2025-04-07
Greens Candidate for Bendigo, Avery Barnett-Dacey and local residents were shocked to learn Fosterville gold mine Tailings Dam lift was approved despite environmental warnings and community opposition.
The decision has alarmed local residents, environmental groups, and experts who raised serious concerns during the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) process about long-term contamination risks and regulatory oversight.
TSF1, which has been approved for a lift, is one of the tailings storage facilities at Fosterville that together contain more than 50,000 tonnes of arsenic and other toxic compounds, according to the National Pollution Inventory. These substances do not break down and pose irreversible risks if they leach into deep groundwater aquifers—a scenario that cannot be remediated once contamination occurs.
The dam was constructed using the upstream method, one of the least stable forms of tailings storage and has been banned in countries like Brazil due to major failures. The risk is compounded by mine-induced seismic activity, including a 3.6-magnitude earthquake recorded on 5 November 2024, which was confirmed by the operator as a blast-related event at Fosterville.
This warning carries added weight in light of the Kangaroo Flat gold mine, which went bankrupt in 2021, leaving behind just $5.9 million in rehabilitation bonds—far short of the real cost to repair decades of environmental damage. With no private operator left to fulfil its obligations, the Victorian Government—and taxpayers—were forced to carry the financial burden.
The failure to prevent or adequately plan for this scenario has renewed scrutiny of Victoria’s outdated Environmental Effects Act 1978. Experts and community members argue the Act is no longer fit for purpose in a time of escalating climate and ecological crises. It offers no binding protections, does not compel government agencies to act on environmental risk, and allows major industrial projects to proceed despite serious concerns. The situation at Fosterville is emblematic of a broader pattern across Victoria—where outdated laws and fragmented oversight consistently fail to protect regional communities, waterways, and ecosystems from long-term harm.
Community group Save the Campaspe has long voiced concern about the risks to the Campaspe River and regional groundwater systems. Members say current regulatory oversight fails to reflect the scale or longevity of the risk, and point to a broader failure of national environmental protections. They referenced the Albanese Government’s recent shelving of “nature positive” reforms and weakening of the EPBC Act, arguing that these moves have left regional communities without meaningful legal defence against long-term industrial harm.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens candidate for Bendigo, Avery Barnett-Dacey
“When community objections, scientific warnings, and basic groundwater protections are all ignored, it’s clear that mining profits are being prioritised over long-term environmental health.
“This election we have a once in a generation chance to get strong environmental laws that actually protect the environment. There will be a minority government. Last time there was a minority government, we secured billions for clean energy and world leading climate laws.
“With more Greens in parliament, we will keep Dutton out, and push Labor to act. If you want strong action, this time, vote 1 Greens.
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Quotes attributable to a Spokesperson from Save the Campaspe
"When many families in the area have lost their basic human right to clean drinking water due to pollution from the mines operations, what does that tell you about the priorities of this Labor Government?
"Whilst some water authorities accept financial grants from this mining company, how can the community have any confidence in their ability and motivation to protect and advocate for the Campaspe River?”
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Quotes attributable to Dr. Phillip Payne, Professor of Environmental Education, former International Editor of Environmental Education Research
“Any extension of Fosterville’s operations near Axedale will pull the trigger for further mining encroachment closer to Bendigo.
“We already know well the toxification of Axedale’s rural environment, including the Campaspe River.
“Tailings are deadly—laden with arsenic, cyanide, and lead. These poisons know no boundaries. They drift in dust, seep into water, settle into soil, and are absorbed into human and ecological systems.
“Gold mining at Fosterville does not have a social license to extend this toxic threat. It never did. It must not be forever.”
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Quotes attributable to Ian Magee, Mining spokesperson for the Bendigo District Environment Council (BDEC)
“The National Pollution Inventory confirms that over 50,000 tonnes of arsenic and other heavy metals are now stored in the Fosterville tailings dams. Globally, there are few — if any — industrial sites with this level of toxic material above ground.
“With the ore body in the Swan Zone reportedly depleted, we must ask: will the company still be here in 2026 to manage this risk?
“Catastrophic tailings dam failures have happened before — just look at Brazil. Are we really willing to gamble the future of the Campaspe and Murray Rivers on this one?”