Pilbara sand miner pushes back
KIM North is Pilbara’s ‘sand king’. Old school, Tonka tough, the father of two a giant in construction and earthmoving with a passion for precious metals, Harleys and choc milk.
‘Northie’ says it straight, the outspoken miner of more than 40 years having taken on a new challenge – exposing what he claims is serious misconduct in local and state government.
The director of Norwest Sand & Gravel says exorbitant rates, council objections, court actions and false petitions are just some of the obstacles he has faced over the past 20 years.
And all because in 1999 he refused to pull two mining leases at Sam’s Creek near Point Samson. Mr North said he fell out with City staff after a meeting at the Sam’s Creek site with then shire president Rob Vitenberg and the late planning services director Bob Sharkey. He says Mr Sharkey became angry when he refused to withdraw his Mines Department-approved leases where NWSG still operates.
Mr North told StreetWise nearly every lease application submitted by NWSG since that meeting has been held up for one reason or another. His applications for temporary workers accommodation were held up for 14 years. The Sam’s Creek leases were held up on council objections for 12 years even though a sand miner operated on a neighbouring lease. Mr North’s father also used to mine sand there.
Mr North says in 2005, NWSG paid $1300 in annual rates on its main sand storage and supply site at Wickham, formerly a market garden. This is where the high-quality sand from Sam’s Creek is stockpiled. By 2014, the rates on the 18.7ha site jumped to $52,539, then were reduced to $32,000 after NWSG objected.
In 2016, Mr North also bought a 1.5ha block near Karratha on which he planned to build a new family home. Valued at $118,000 and owned previously by the State as a ‘non-rateable’ block, the land is uncleared and without services, water and power. Expecting a few thousand dollars a year, Mr North’s rates bill for the undeveloped block is now more than $16,000 a year.
Fed up trying to resolve his concerns with council, Mr North forwarded his allegations in a 30,000-word submission to the WA parliamentary select committee on local government chaired by Liberal MLC Simon O’Brien (‘Trouble in WA’s powerhouse’, July 7). He also wrote to the Premier in May this year.
The City refused to provide information regarding Mr North’s claim of exorbitant rates nor answer questions raised over delays in NWSG’s applications and approvals. It told StreetWise today: “These matters have been independently reviewed a number of times over the past 10 years, with explanations previously provided to NWSG”.
Reluctant to comment because, “it’s a very small town, it’s like getting involved in office politics”, Mr Vitenberg denied having been involved in delays over NWSG’s Sam’s Creek leases.
But the former Point Samson resident confirmed having, “led an active campaign to establish a buffer zone between the Point Samson community and Cape Lambert and he (Mr North) was not keen on that because in the middle were his Sam’s Creek leases”.
Mr Vitenberg told StreetWise: “I go back a long way with Kim North. I go back a long way with Kim’s dad. I worked very hard as a councillor and one of the few in local government who did not have a vested interest. Dust in Point Samson is a real issue, and I’m not aware Kim ever lost any leases or was prevented getting leases, his biggest issues revolved around developing land near Wickham. But I didn’t represent Wickham.”
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