Senator LUDLAM-I believe when I was out of the room we heard from one of the officers on uranium
mining and what the federal government is doing to establish a regulatory regime. Could I grab another couple of minutes in the time that is available?

Mr Clarke-The information we provided the committee in your absence was our understanding of the
sites under development in WA and the extent to which the Commonwealth has a regulatory role in that area.

Senator LUDLAM-I want to follow on on those. What is the Commonwealth government doing to
establish that regulatory regime? Is it an office, a section or a department that you represent? Who are you meeting with and how is that rolling out?

Ms Barton-Is this just in relation to Western Australia?

Senator LUDLAM-For the moment.

Ms Barton-The Commonwealth's role in relation to uranium mining, including in Western Australia, is in three areas. One is in the Environment portfolio under the nuclear trigger of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The second area is in our portfolio, to issue uranium export permits. The third area is in the Foreign Affairs portfolio, to issue permits within Australia and then tracking the uranium once it goes overseas.

Senator LUDLAM-Are those three portfolios being coordinated through the Uranium Industry
Framework? Through what mechanism are they coordinated?

Ms Barton-We have very close relationships with those other portfolios and we have been working
together to assist Western Australia on the projects that I described earlier in relation to what the
Commonwealth approvals would be.

Senator LUDLAM-Which is the lead agency, if there is such a thing?

Ms Barton-We work very closely together. We have an industry development role, so we have been
leading in the consultations with Western Australia.

Senator LUDLAM-Who are you consulting with in Western Australia? If this is a complex, long list,
I am happy to have that information tabled, but is there a consultation schedule?

Ms Barton-There are two key agencies in Western Australia that we are working with. One is the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum, which issues the mining titles; the other one is the Western Australian Department of the Environment and Conservation, which does all the environmental approvals.

Senator LUDLAM-That is not consultation; that is intergovernmental meetings. What about Indigenous communities, local government authorities, general communities? That is consultation. Who have you met with in that regard?

Ms Barton-The consultation process would occur under the EPBC Act for the projects.

Senator LUDLAM-That is for individual mines.

Ms Barton-Yes. Consultation with the Western Australian government, as I said, was with those two lead agencies in Western Australia, and then they would be responsible for coordinating within the Western Australian government.

Senator LUDLAM-I do not know that it is really true to say that the Commonwealth is consulting as
such; you have agency meetings going on with departments in Western Australia. But am I reading you right when I say there is no consultation occurring at a community level at all? You have named two government departments; that is all.

Mr Clarke-That is correct, Senator. This department is not undertaking community consultation in regard to these projects. The Commonwealth may well do so through its EPBC interests.

Senator LUDLAM-That will be case by case. That process is not triggered until there is an individual
project on the table, as there is now with the BHP mine, but there is no consultation. You are effectively the lead agency in an industry development role but you are leaving consultation either to the state side or to an individual project-by-project basis. Is that fair to say?

Mr Clarke-Yes, that is a fair summary.

Senator LUDLAM-Can you tell us exactly what role the Uranium Industry Framework is playing in that
process.

Ms Barton-Regarding the Uranium Industry Framework, I guess we have been working with Western
Australia on helping them to establish a regulatory regime, but that would be a state regulatory regime that would be complementary to the Commonwealth one.

Senator LUDLAM-Are you playing a role in taking best practice, as is the common phrase, from other
states and territories and applying it to WA?

Ms Barton-Yes, because South Australia and the Northern Territory government are both members of the Uranium Industry Framework, and Western Australia has recently joined them, to work together on best practice regulation.

CHAIR-Last question.

Senator LUDLAM-The last one. The benchmark for best practice in the case of tailings management,
obviously, is set at the Ranger uranium mine, which has a 10,000-year licence condition on containment and storage of tailings in the mine void. Will that best practice be applied in Western Australia?

Ms Barton-Best practice is really on a case-by-case basis for the conditions that are around that mine. In the case of Ranger, that is correct; 10,000 years is the benchmark. In the case of a mine in South Australia, the benchmark may well be quite different.

Senator LUDLAM-Well, there is no benchmark, so there is not best practice in South Australia. Best
practice is in the Northern Territory. Are you applying that standard across other mines in Western Australia?

Ms Barton-As I said, it is on a case-by-case basis depending on the mine, the environment surrounding it and the issues around that mine.

Senator LUDLAM-I do not understand how you can use the term ‘best practice' if it is different
everywhere.

CHAIR-Thank you, Senator Ludlam. We need to go to Geoscience Australia now. Thank you to the
officers of the department in outcome 1. I will now call to the table Geoscience Australia.