A court case has resumed in Brisbane to decide whether a mining company can access a Cape York wildlife reserve dedicated to the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin.
Cape Alumina is seeking access to Bertiehaugh Cattle Station, renamed the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, for a proposed bauxite
mine.
The Irwin family company, Silverback Properties, bought a pastoral lease for the 135,000ha with the help of a federal government grant after Irwin's death in 2006.
Cape Alumina holds a mining lease which covers about 15 per cent of the reserve and hopes to begin mining bauxite in the area from 2010. The company says it has no plans to work in sensitive wetland areas.
But Steve Irwin's widow, Terri, wants the mine stopped because, she says, the area is home to vulnerable animal and plant species.
The court has already granted Cape Alumina the right to send in environmental scientists to conduct a three-week study.
The company needs to complete an environmental impact statement before it can apply for a mining licence from the Queensland government.
