Plibersek refuses to release advice which led to mining ban

She slapped a ban on that is set to torpedo a $1 billion gold mine in country NSW, but Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek - who will attend News Corp’s Bush Summit this week - won’t release the advice that led to her decision.

The Albanese government has been lashed for a lack of transparency after Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said she would not release advice that led to her slapping a ban on a $1bn gold mine in country NSW.

Ms Plibersek said on Wednesday she would not release documents which led to her decision to block part of the McPhillamys mine proposal using obscure Indigenous heritage laws.

“No, it’s not traditional to release all of the advice publicly. That is absolutely standard with any of these decisions,” she said.

“Some of that advice is provided confidentially, and that includes information that is commercial in confidence from project proponents.”

Minister for the Environment and Water of Australia, Tanya Plibersek. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The move triggered a fierce response from her Coalition counterpart Jonno Duniam, who is seeking to have the ban on the site of the mine’s proposed tailings dam overturned.

“Tanya Plibersek needs to be transparent about the advice that she received to reject this mine, that gutted 800 jobs and $200m of royalties that the NSW government could use to pay for more hospital beds, police officers and upgrading schools,” he said.

Ms Plibersek said she had considered 2500 pages of submissions, including advice from a local Indigenous group, saying there had “been quite a bit of commentary from traditional owners explaining that this is an area where … pre-initiation gatherings were held”.

She drew links between the project and Juukan Gorge, a site with thousands of years of Indigenous links in WA which was demolished during a mine extension in 2020.

A federal inquiry found Rio Tinto failed to properly consult with the traditional owners of the site. The CEO and multiple executives of the company stepped down in the wake of the incident.

In contrast, the McPhillamys gold mine had spent years travelling through planning processes – and received sign off at federal and state level, including from the Independent Planning Commission last year.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and special envoy for defence, veterans’ affairs and northern Australia Luke Gosling at the announcement of a major solar project, where Ms Plibersek defended her decision to block part of a new gold mine in country NSW. Picture: Lachlan Leeming

“I’m not saying no to the project – the gold mine can go ahead, the proponents need to find a different site for the tailings,” she said.

“(But) if this river is destroyed, it’s destroyed forever. So the project life is about 15 years, but the destruction to the river is forever.

“The Coalition said when Juukan Gorge was destroyed that we should never allow another Duke board. What they’re proposing now is to allow another Juukan Gorge.”

Ms Plibersek, who will who attend The 2024 National Bush Summit launch in Townsville on Friday, also defended listening to a smaller, local Indigenous group who opposed the project, rather than the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council, which stated it was “neutral” to the project.

She said the Wiradjuri traditional owners group she listened to had advised the previous Coalition Government when they issued a section 10 blocking a new go-kart track in the central west.

“On the choice of listening to the Wiradjuri traditional owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation. This is the same group that the previous Liberal government (listened to) in making these decisions. They can’t say it’s the right group a few years ago, and it’s the wrong group now,” she said.

In 2021, the then-Coalition government declared part of Mount Panorama protected under Section 10, despite the local government’s opposition to the decision and an independent report – which has never been publicly released – recommending against the declaration.

Bathurst Shire Council general manager David Sherley expressed frustration with the process, given the council had already sought advice from the Bathurst Local Aboriginal Land Council who, similarly to the McPhillamys Mine saga, did not oppose the go-kart track.

“The works had already substantially commenced,” he said.

“What’s frustrating is you end up doing these large cultural heritage assessments … and then suddenly out of nowhere there’s an issue.”