‘High risk’: Tanya’s gold mine ban blocks off public road to locals

Tanya Plibersek has rejected claims that her decision to block a $1b gold mine in regional NSW has meant a council can no longer maintain a local road.

A NSW council fighting to keep a rejected gold mine alive claims that an intervention from Tanya Plibersek will ban them from maintaining a local road, eventually forcing them to block it off from the public.

Blayney Shire Council has been warned that without an amendment to Tanya Plibersek’s section 10 declaration which halted the construction of a vital gold mine, they will not be able to maintain Dungeon Road.

Dungeon Rd cuts directly through the Tailings Dam segment of the declared area, prompting uncertainty about the future of the road.

A spokesperson for Tanya Plibersek said the “use and maintenance of the road is unaffected”, however, this is disputed by council lawyers.

Blayney Council has received fresh legal advise that said a local road is included in Ms Plibersek’s decision, and at “high risk of” contravening the s10 declaration if it proceeds to carry out any general road construction and maintenance activities.

In a media statement, the council confirmed these activities “include but are not limited to maintenance grading, gravel re-sheeting, clearing of table drains, repairing and replacing culverts, fixing or varying levels in the road,” read a statement.

Council lawyers have said the public can continue using the road, however this is contingent on Council’s ability to maintain the road.

“At this stage, Council has not been advised of the immediate need to shut and/or

prevent access to the 2km part of Dungeon Road affected by the declaration, however that position is solely contingent on Council being able to undertake its functions as the Roads Authority, in accordance with the Roads Act 1993,” said the statement.

Last month, The Daily Telegraph revealed Blayney Shire Council was urgently seeking legal advice amid concerns a local road could be closed off to the public after it was included in a declaration from Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, which halted the construction of a vital gold mine.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek used Aboriginal heritage laws to halt the McPhillamys Project in NSW last month despite it having passed state and federal environmental approvals.

According to Ms Plibersek’s declaration, which halted construction of the Tailings dam segment of the McPhillamy’s Mine, “an area shall be taken to be injured or desecrated if passage through or over, or entry upon, the area by any person occurs in a manner inconsistent with Aboriginal tradition”.

Blayney Shire Council is now urgently calling for Ms Plibersek to amend the declaration.

“The amendment sought is necessary to deal with the presumably unintended consequences of the s10 declaration that now directly impacts a 2km section of Dungeon Road which traverses the declared area.

“Should the amendment not be made, Council will not be able to carry out itsfunctions as the Roads Authority, in accordance with Roads Act 1993,” said a spokesperson.

A car rally event due to be held on Dungeon Rd is another unintended causality in the decision.

Council has been advised Dungeon Road cannot be used for that purpose, as it is not known how to ascertain if this activity is a type of passage consistent with ‘Aboriginal Tradition’ as required by the s10 declaration.

A spokesperson for Tanya Plibersek’s office said the use and maintenance of the road is unaffected. “Council were invited to make a submission during the section 10 process, they did not do so.”

The area at the centre of the tailings dam ban. Picture: Rohan Kelly

It comes The ABC has launched unprecedented legal action against an Aboriginal land council that abandoned its opposition to the gold mine, demanding documents that Wiradjuri elders say will reveal confidential traditional knowledge, The Australian has revealed.

The national broadcaster lodged an application with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal to force the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council to produce documents showing why it changed its position on the mine to neutral, having previously opposed it.

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Tanya Plibersek attends Minerals Week in Canberra. Picture: Adam Taylor

Originally published as ‘High risk’: Tanya’s gold mine ban blocks off public road to locals