Presented at the AGM 13 July 2013

 

Welcome and thanks

I want to start by thanking Sheila and David Kearns for their hospitality. I also want acknowledge and pay respect to the ancestors of the Awabical Nation, the traditional custodians of this Country whose land we enjoy and live and work on.

General

During the year, your committee comprising Leonie Sweeney, Mandy Allen, Mick Astles, Col Burzacott, Rob Kothe and I have worked on a range of issues and I want to start by thanking each of them for their hard work. This has been a great team to work with, each making their own contribution.

I want to start by thanking Leonie, as our secretary Leonie has put in a great effort, Leonie is extremely well organised and she helps the rest of us get our work done. Leonie works consistently and quietly at our communications, she keeps the team on task, she has worked with Margrete in developing the two proposed projects that we will discuss late this morning and all in all, she is the glue that holds the team together. The last 6 months has seen Rob move away from the area and recently he decided that he would not be coming back and has resigned from the MCA Executive and the CCC. I want to acknowledge Rob’s contribution to the MCA, he brought us into the internet age, he funded the development of the structure of our web site and supported the executive in its use, he also made a big contribution to our interaction with the mine, particularly in two areas, leading our response to Mandalong Mine’s Communication and Consultation Plan and pushing the mine on environmental issues. Rob was very effective member of the MCA team in the CCC process and we will miss him. We wish him well and he has asked that we stay in touch and we look forward to doing so.

Mandy and Mick have worked in two areas, they co-chair the mining subcommittee, if anyone is concerned about mining impacts on their properties or on the valley in general, they are your point of contact. Mandy has a major project underway on fireweed control and you will hear about that and Mick is leading our response to the blackberry infestation in the valley. Col as our treasurer looks after the finances. The book club has been active meeting monthly in the past year; thank you to Joan Satchwell for keeping it on track. The film club has been has been revitalised and also meets monthly with organisation from Leonie Sweeney and the hospitality of Sheila and David, our sincere thanks to all of them.

Mining Progress Report

The mining subcommittee is being co-chaired by Mandy Allen and Mick Astles. Mandy will shortly report on its activities. In recent years subsidence predictions have been accurate and the factors that cause damage to buildings and manmade structures which are tilt and strain have generally been below Centennial Mandalong’s predictions and well within the Safe Serviceable and Repairable limits set by government regulation.

The big issue we are pursuing is the effect of mining on water retention and the watercourses in the valley.  
The negotiations with the community regarding the Mandalong South Extension project have gone well and we have a good outcome, the activities in the valley will be limited to supplying air and materials (fuel and gravel), and an exhaust air system. People and equipment will also access the mine from the existing pithead.

Methane drainage and the treatment of fugitive methane will continue to be back to the current pithead where the equipment for flaring is currently being commissioned and the experimental VAM RAB process to convert the fugitive methane to Carbon Dioxide is also being commissioned. The design of the methane flaring equipment at pit head is designed to permit the generation of electricity at a later stage.

In the past year our main achievements have been:

  • A significant improvement in Centennials attention to land management, there is now a process in place which allows us to see the plan and Centennials progress in achieving it
  • A significant and continuing improvement in the conduct of CCC meetings, with greater focus on our issues
    Methane flaring at the pit head is being commissioned
  • The experimental VAM RAB process for treating fugitive methane emissions is being commissioned
  • The commencement of discussions with Centennial and LMCC regarding the achievement of our development objectives through the Voluntary Planning Approval process for Mandalong South
  • Two months ago the Chair of the CCC retired Milton Morris AO has been a fair and effective chair, he has always given us his time and attention and we thank him for his work and wish him well in his impending retirement. We also wish him good health in this his 90th year. The new chair is Margaret McDonald Hill, she is a member of the Mine Subsidence Board and the Minister’s Arbitration Panel.

Development  Proposals

MCA has been seeking assistance from Centennial for a number of projects, Mandalong Park, upgrade of local private/public roads, extension of the lake cycle way to the proposed park, a track alongside Mandalong Road as it winds up the valley to offset the effect of increased traffic with the Mandalong South extension on local cycling and hose riding traffic. All of these requests have been stalled and have been linked to the Voluntary Planning Agreement process for the Mandalong South extension. This will play out during the next 12 months.

Marton Marosszeky
13 July 2013