Hi everyone,

I have cut and pasted below part of a letter from Marg Sprigg, Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctury regarding the  ‘Seeking a Balance’ proposal released by the Department of Environment and Heritage in conjunction with the Department of Primary Industries.

If you care about the Flinders Ranges, it is imperative that you read the letter below and offer your support to save the Flinders Ranges from unlimited mining access.



“We are writing to seek your help in the fight for the survival of the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.

The Department Environment and Heritage in partnership with the Department of Primary Industries, have released a proposal which seeks to diminish the protection of significant tourism, cultural, flora and flora sites on the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.

The proposal, titled Seeking a Balance, if passed would allow mining companies almost unlimited access to the Sanctuary with only a token level of protection.

The document purports to be a proposal for the whole of the Northern Flinders Ranges but in reality focuses mainly on the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary and properties bordering the Sanctuary.

The document is basically a green light to mining companies, in particular Marathon Resources who had their uranium exploration licence suspended last year for the illegal dumping of radio active waste on the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.

If this proposal were to be passed it would effectively mean the end of the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary as we know it with key areas open to mining companies. This includes the Ridgetop Track and Sillers lookout as well as many other significant sites.

We are quickly running out of time to save this precious icon of South Australia, indeed Australia.

The closing date is now on the 29th January 2010 and we urge everyone who wants to see the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary protected from mining to visit:

www.savearkaroola.com.au

to find out how you can register your objection to this proposal becoming reality.”

Marg Sprigg