Green group claims record opposition to bauxite mine

Apr. 8, 2010
The Wilderness Society has collected 280,000 signatures of people opposing a bauxite mine near the Wenlock River in far north Queensland.
They say the petition sets a new record for an Australian environment campaign.
The proposed developer of the Cape York mine says the petition opposing the project ignores strong local support.
Cape Alumina director Dr Paul Messenger says many of the signatures are from overseas and should be ignored by the State Government.
Dr Messenger says much of the support has been generated because of the Steve Irwin nature reserve in the area.
"We believe it is more a reflection of the power of the Irwin media machine to generate those numbers," he said.
"The facts are that the local community is overwhelmingly in support of this project and they are so because of the outstanding social and economic benefits that the project stands to deliver."