Page 118 of Stockman's Sandstorm

‘And they want to do that here?’

‘Well, they can try …’ Harper grinned in a way that had them all leaning back. ‘Do you guys know the local zoning regulations?’

‘We know of the zoning areas for cattle-tick regulations and when we need to move our cattle to different areas. All stockmen do.’ It was part of the job.

‘I’m talking about the zoning for land that defines the legally permitted uses for a specific property or area.’ Harper dragged out another map of the Northern Territory. ‘The government allocates areas of land for sporting and recreation areas, housing, industrial, and zones for agriculture, Aboriginal sacred sites, national parks, and mining. Now, all this area, everything on this side of Elsie Creek, is under an agricultural zone. It includes Elsie Creek Station, your brother’s station, Sandlot, and the many other cattle stations along this region.’ Harper tapped on the map, explaining that the green zone was for agriculture, and the red for mining. And Elsie Creek Station, and all their closest neighbours were all in the green zone.

‘That means they can’t mine out here. Not on this side of the highway?’ The excitement shone in Cap’s eyes as he tapped on the map, eager to show his brothers. ‘They don’t have the zoning for it. It’s all agricultural land, for farming, not mining.’

‘But how long will that last?’ asked Ryder.

‘That what I wondered,’ said Harper, in a rare agreement with Ryder. ‘From what I can gather from my research, Blackwell Mining is buying up land, hoping to put forward a submission to change the zoning to allow for mining.’

‘Can they do that?’ Cap’s excitement died.

‘Not now we know about it.’ Harper grinned one of those grins that was both smart and sexy.

‘What do you know?’

‘The Northern Territory isn’t a state. It’s a territory. They don’t have full constitutional powers of self-government and are effectively under the Federal Government’s control. It’s the Federal Government that funds the Territory’s roads, housing, and mining. Which means, that even though the Territory has a Water Act, it doesn’t hold much … water.’ She grinned at herself for the pun. ‘And that letter from the government …’

Ash dragged it out of the pile and passed it to Harper.

‘This letter should never have been written.’

‘But it’s official, right?’ Dex pointed at the letter. ‘It’s got the official letterhead, and they had that government courier drop it off.’

‘They never conducted a property inspection on your neighbour’s property for the mine about their uses of water.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Craig’s friend, the water analyst. He was the one who showed me how big of an impact that mine would have on the waterways for this entire region. It was enough for me to speak to the mines department—’

‘You did what?’ Ryder wasn’t happy.

‘Settle down, cupcake, she’s not done,’ said Bree, stepping closer to Harper’s side.

‘How did you speak to the mines department when they were ignoring all of our calls?’ asked Ryder. ‘My lawyers couldn’t get through.’

‘I skipped the local government and went straight to the Federal Minister of Mines,’ replied Harper. ‘He was the best man at my father’s wedding, and we had Christmas dinners with his family.’

‘You used your father’s connections?’ Ryder arched an eyebrow at her.

‘And mine, through my job. For the first time, too.’

‘Why would you do that?’ Ash asked, stunned at all of this.

‘Because this not only affects all of you—it affects Mason. The stress you’re all living under is not healthy. I should know, after living under a level-four terrorism threat …’ She touched the back of her head, the place that hid her scars.

Ash knew why she liked wearing hats so much, it was to hide and protect that sensitive area. It made his heart melt for her, he wanted to hold her, to take away that pain, but he couldn’t.

‘I may have used my connections to get in the door, but I had to show logical proof. Which I did with the water reports, satellite imagery, interviews, and historical research.’ Harper flicked at the maps spread across the table. ‘I collated all the data I could get my hands on to present my case to the Federal Minister. It was my job to show both sides of the argument.’

‘And?’

‘I could prove this new mine would have a severe impact on the environment, including the underwater artesian basin. Effectively blocking any mining works in this area without an extensive environmental impact report based on their mining methods—which Blackwell’s never did. The Territory Government should have never granted them that mining permit. And the Federal Mining Minister’s office is asking them why that permit was allowed.’

‘Are you saying they’re done?’ Ash held his breath.

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