Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has been accused of “rewriting history” after denying she slammed the brakes on a gold mine by issuing a controversial ruling on indigenous heritage.
Earlier this month, Ms Plibersek moved to protect land deemed to have significant Aboriginal heritage value from being excavated for a wastewater dam needed for McPhillamys’ proposed gold mine near Blayney in central west New South Wales.
Mining developer Regis Resources said scrapping plans for a tailings dam in the headwaters of the nearby Belubula River made the entire project financially unviable by delaying it by five to 10 years.
However, Ms Plibersek said claims she had destroyed the mine were “misinformation”.
“Let’s be very clear here, I have said that the gold mine can go ahead but that the company needs to find a new site for the tailings dam,” Plibersek told the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.
His argument did not impress Sydney 2GB radio morning show host Ben Fordham.
“For almost two weeks, it was reported across the country that Tanya Plibersek had blocked the development of the gold mine,” Fordham said.
‘She didn’t correct him. She seemed to be proud of it.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has been accused of “rewriting history” after denying that a decision to halt construction of a tailings dam on land would make a gold mine project near the town of Blayney in central west New South Wales unviable.
“In fact, she boasted on social media about using her powers as environment minister to protect an Aboriginal heritage area.”
At the weekend, Ms Plibersek gave an interview to the left-leaning Saturday Paper about her decision which appeared under the headline ‘Tanya Plibersek halts gold mine over Indigenous heritage reasons’.
In that interview, she again said that Regis just needed to find another dam site nearby to move the project forward.
“There’s really nothing stopping the mine from going ahead,” he said.
‘They just need to find a new location for the tailings dump that is not on a culturally significant site for the Wiradjuri people.
“They already own 2,500 hectares of land. I have made a declaration for 400 hectares of them. They are free to use the other 2,100 hectares.”
Fordham scoffed at this attempt to portray the decision to build the dam as simply a modest setback for the project.
“It’s a ridiculous argument,” Fordham said.
‘The gold mine cannot go ahead until the tailings dam site is secured and approved by bureaucrats and that takes years.’
Fordham questioned why Ms Plibersek had declared the area of cultural significance when the NSW government thought otherwise.
“The NSW Planning Department has thoroughly considered the Aboriginal heritage of this site and after three years of consideration, the independent planning commission ruled that “the department considers the impacts of the project on Aboriginal cultural heritage are acceptable under NSW Government policy,” Fordham said.
The proposed area, just outside Orange, New South Wales, was to have an open-pit mine, processing plant and tailings dam (pictured)
So Tanya Plibersek is saying she doesn’t trust the NSW government?
There has been division among local indigenous bodies over the gold mine.
The Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council, which is the statutory Indigenous body governing the area, supports the mine and all its ongoing works.
However, the request to preserve the site came from the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners’ Central West Aboriginal Corporation, which Ms Plibersek partially accepted.
Last week, Roy Ah-See, a descendant of the Wiradjuri Nation and former chair of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, raised questions about the credentials of Wollongong-born artist Nyree Reynolds, who submitted a landmark statement urging Ms Plibersek to block the proposed gut dam on the Belubula River.
New South Wales Labor Premier Chris Minns said on Monday he was “disappointed” by Plibersek’s decision on the mine to be created 200 jobs and will contribute around $200 million in royalties to New South Wales.
State Natural Resources Minister Courtney Houssos continues to work with Regis Resources to find an alternative site for the tailings dam.
Fordham accused Plibersek of “making a mess of this whole thing” by trying to deny that she stopped the dam immediately.
“Chris Minns doesn’t believe it, Anthony Albanese is on the run a million miles away,” Fordham said of his claims.
‘Tanya Plibersek is alone.’