The ABC's The 7.30 Report program recently screened a highly critical investigation into Lihir's approved practice of discharging tailings deep into the ocean and into tailings methods used at the giant Ok Tedi mine.

"The extent and frequency of error and deceptive visual presentation takes the piece outside the passing transgression of day-to-day journalism in the realm of character assassination," Garnaut said to The Australian yesterday.

Garnaut reportedly said the television program gave him no warning about the nature of its investigations and only requested an interview on Lihir's achievements.

He added that Lihir's DSTP had only caused some impacts on plankton and had no adverse impact further up the food chain.

Garnaut, who handed down Australia's climate change review in 2008, also defended Lihir's environmental record as world class.

More conventional approaches for the mine's tailings would have to overcome the shortage of land on Lihir Island.

While Garnaut is demanding an apology from the ABC, he was only offered an interview with the journalist behind the television report.

The spotlight on deep sea tailings comes at a time when China Metallurgical Construction Corporation's Ramu nickel project in Madang province remains under a cloud because of its proposed DSTP.

Early this month, two of the five plaintiffs involved in court proceedings to stop the Ramu DSTP pulled out of the case.

Lawyer Tiffany Nonggorr is a key architect of the legal action against the Ramu project.

Back in April she told PNGIndustryNews.net that DSTP, or submarine tailings disposal as it used to be known, was only about 150m deep.

Nonggorr added it was banned in Australia and in China where Ramu operator MCC is from.