Coalition claims Minister Tanya Plibersek contradicted herself over Blayney gold mine’s survival
Despite the Minister claiming a proposed NSW mine hit with a partial ban could forge ahead, a quietly released statement saw her acknowledge the project would be unviable.
NSW
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Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has been accused of contradicting herself by acknowledging her decision to slap a ban on part of a proposed gold mine would torpedo the entire project – despite repeatedly claiming the development would be fine to go ahead despite her move.
A statement of reasons for the Minister’s decision to issue a section 10 ban on part of the McPhillamys mine proposal, near Blayney, was issued quietly on Friday, justifying her reasons for blocking the site where a tailings dam for the mine would be built.
In it the Minister acknowledged she was “satisfied that a partial declaration (on the tailings dam) would make the proposed mine unviable in the state in which it is currently proposed and approved”.
Despite that, she found the impacts on the company behind the mine – Regis Resources – and the wider community looking forward to 800 jobs being created “do not outweigh the irreversible damage and permanent loss to the Aboriginal cultural heritage”.
Before issuing the statement of reasons, however, the Minister repeatedly claimed to media her decision wouldn’t sink the mine.
“The company has said that they need to go back to the drawing board, that this could take five or 10 years. That’s just nonsense because the bulk of the project has been approved,“ she said in one interview.
In another, she said: “Crucially, I have not said that the gold mine can’t go ahead. I said the tailings dam can’t be built on the headwaters and springs of the river”.
Another time she maintained “the mine can go ahead”.
“I’ve made no decision to stop the gold mine,” she said.
Regis Resources, in the aftermath of the section 10 ban, said it would make the $1 billion project unviable.
Ms Plibersek on Monday declined to add any comment beyond the statement of reasons.
The Environment Minister has previously stated the section 10 declaration applies to just 16 per cent of the entire proposed mine site, and doesn’t include the mine itself – just the proposed tailings dam.
The Minister has previously pointed to Regis’ share price – which is up 37 per cent since the declaration was made – when queried on the viability of the project.
Shadow environment spokesman Jonno Duniam claimed there had been “contradiction after contradiction from Tanya Plibersek trying to justify her senseless decision that gutted the McPhillamys gold mine”.
“Everyone knew that the Minister’s decision would kill the mine. Regis Resources themselves took a $192 million hit when they officially wrote off the project,” he said.
“Fast forward to today, the Minister’s statement of reasons document clearly states that the Minister knew that the mine would be unviable after she rejected the tailings dam site.”
“It is night and day between her public statements when she rejected the mine in August and the Statement of Reasons document that was quietly released on Friday.”
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Originally published as Coalition claims Minister Tanya Plibersek contradicted herself over Blayney gold mine’s survival
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