Bush Summit 2024: Dungeon Rd at Blayney hit by Tanya Plibersek’s Section 10 ruling
A regional council is seeking legal advice amid concerns a local road could be closed off after it was included in a declaration from Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, although the minister herself says the road is not affected.
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A NSW regional council is 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.
Blayney Shire Council is now seeking clarification on whether the public can continue to drive on Dungeon Rd at Kings Plains following the Section 10 declaration and what this means for locals — including mine workers who are now avoiding driving on the road out of fear they’ll breach the government’s act.
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”.
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 Blayney Mayor Scott Ferguson.
“It says nowhere in this declaration that existing use can continue. It seems to suggest that you can’t do anything that isn’t traditional Aboriginal land use,” Mr Ferguson said.
“I wouldn’t think driving a car, farming, sealing roads is traditional Aboriginal land use, which is why we are getting legal advice. We certainly wouldn’t want to breach it.” he said. “This has been a nightmare. It’s been the worst process I have ever been involved in, in 25 years.”
Blayney Shire general manager Mark Dicker said the council was very concerned with the wording in the declaration, as it implies driving on the road would be breaking the Act.
“If you read the declaration, it’s so ambiguous. We need an opinion because (the Act implies) we can’t do drainage works, can’t seal the road, we can’t use the road,” he said. “We need to ascertain if the road can continue to be used.”
“There is meant to be a rally event on this road later this year and we need to seek clarification if this can proceed.”
The confusion over public access to the road is another casualty of Ms Plibersek’s decision to uphold a Section 10 objection to the site for a tailings dam, which has cost the community around Blayney and Orange 800 new jobs and the council $33 million in lost revenue.
In a visit to the site with Regis Resources, The Daily Telegraph was unable to drive down the road due to workers’ concerns of contravening the Act. It is understood that local mine workers are no longer using the road, as anyone who contravenes it would be committing an offence.
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Originally published as Bush Summit 2024: Dungeon Rd at Blayney hit by Tanya Plibersek’s Section 10 ruling
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