It has always been the Liberals who have committed Australians to politically motivated unwinnable wars.

Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan.

Menzies, Holt , McMahon, Fraser, Howard. All guilty.

Bob Fulton, Darkes Forest

I refer to the article “Doubts on Mine Rehab” (Illawarra Mercury, June 17, 2016) in which Hannah Aulby of the Australian Conservation foundation alleged, “If the miner went bankrupt, or sold its assets, the liabilities could get lost in the sale”.

This is inaccurate and misleading. Effective rehabilitation of mining sites in NSW is as important to the NSW Government as the economic development of mineral and energy assets for the benefit of NSW citizens.

There was a time in NSW where there was limited regulatory requirement for companies to rehabilitate mine sites. This is no longer the case.

For nearly a decade, NSW Government legislation has required the payment of a 100 per cent rehabilitation security bond, the sum of which meets the estimated full-costs of rehabilitation and is designed to ensure the land is left in a fit-for-purpose state, as outlined in the planning development consent.

This has, in many cases, required mining sites to be rehabilitated to ensure the re-establishment of specific ecological ecosystems, or productive agricultural land, including both cropping and grazing, or to be rehabilitated to accommodate industrial or recreational facilities.

Mining cannot begin unless an up-front rehabilitation security bond has been lodged with the Government.

These bonds must be in the form of cash or AAA rated financial security instruments.

This protects the people of NSW from incurring financial liability for rehabilitation activities in the future.

The security currently held by the NSW Government for mining rehabilitation is $2.1 billion. In NSW, even if a company goes into liquidation, these bonds are sacrosanct and cannot be accessed by the company.

There is no question of who meets the costs for rehabilitation. These bonds are reviewed at least once a year to ensure that 100 per cent of the rehabilitation liability continues to be covered.

Companies are required to conduct progressive rehabilitation activities on their sites in order to ensure the bond is as closely aligned to actual rehabilitation requirements as possible.

The bond may be increased or decreased at any time. Bond monies will only ever be released if the rehabilitation standards, specified by the various NSW Government regulatory agencies,have been met.

Kylie Hargreaves, Deputy Secretary, Resources & Energy

It amazes me, as an avid Mercury opinions reader, how many regulars are so obviously one eyed with regards to politics.  

I wonder if they think anyone would change their opinions regarding politics by what they say.  

They are either very bored or so brainwashed by promises and political spin that they expect intelligent informed people to be interested in their obviously narrow minded opinions.

Merryn Joske, Kiama