‘Go to hell’: Tanya Plibersek grilled by Chris O’Keefe in heated exchange about axed $1 billion mine

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has hit back at suggestions she was “scammed” into axing a $1 billion gold mine in a heated exchange on radio.

Tanya Plibersek has hit back at suggestions she was “scammed” into axing a $1 billion gold mine amid revelations the decision was based on the objection of an Indigenous elder.

The Environment Minister has faced furious backlash over the decision to veto a proposed waste dump for the McPhillamys Gold Mine in Blayney, near Orange in central western NSW.

The owner of the project, Perth-based Regis Resources, has written off $192 million of value and says it could take up to 10 years to find a suitable new site and get approvals from scratch.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has smashed the “disappointing 11th hour” decision, while Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Ms Plibersek of “trying to please Greens voters”.

Ms Plibersek has rejected reports environmentalists got in the ear of the indigenous charity that formally opposed the dam site, insisting she was convinced the area holds cultural significance.

But seething Wiradjuri elder Roy Ah-See has rubbished her reasoning, claiming the move is proof Aboriginal culture has been “hijacked for hidden agendas”.

At the centre of the saga is the fact the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council – the legally elected body for the Indigenous community in the region – supported the mine going ahead.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has hit back at suggestions her decision to veto a dump site for a $1 billion gold mine was influenced by environmental activists. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

In a fiery interview with Chris O’Keefe on 2GB, Ms Plibersek was asked a blunt question: “Are you sure you haven’t been scammed here?”

“I’m certain of my decision, I took it very seriously,” she shot back.

“Do you think if you take a step back … ‘(and think) maybe these people are just taking me for a ride?” O’Keefe continued.

“Because there are some questions that they had some environmental (activists).”

Ms Plibersek insisted her decision was purely based on “the cultural heritage advice I got”.

“The river itself is very culturally important… it features in a number of creation stories in the area, and it’s an area that for thousands of years has been used in pre-initiation ceremonies,” she said.

In a back-and-forth discussion, O’Keefe had the last say.

“There’s only one group who’s saying (the mine shouldn’t go ahead),” he claimed.

“You’ve got to be honest and say ‘this is what we’re doing because the Wiradjuri mob said that we’re doing it, and everyone else can go to hell’.”

The McPhillamys Gold Project has drawn headlines for weeks after a proposed tailings dam (above) was rejected, effectively destroying the $1 billion project. Picture: Supplied

‘Rolling in their grave’

Mr Ah-See, the former chair of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, has emerged as the fiercest critic of the decision to axe the mine.

Speaking at the Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit in Orange on Thursday, he claimed Indigenous culture was being used as a political tool.

“At the end of the day, what’s happened here should be concerning for industry and it should be concerning for other sectors, but more importantly, for the structure of our local Aboriginal land councils,” he said.

He questioned why the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council had been overruled.

“They’ve been through the process in terms of culture and heritage, they’ve been through surveys, site assessments … they have the cultural authority to do that,” he said.

“It undermines the very existence of my people’s culture and the structures we have for who speaks for country.”

Mr Ah-See said the people who would be hurt most by the decision were vulnerable Indigenous Australians who deserved financial hope and stability.

“I’m very, very annoyed because how are we going to close the gap? The biggest killer of Aboriginal people in this country is alcohol and drugs, it’s absolute poverty and welfare dependency.

“And here we’ve got a minister who’s knocking back a billion dollar mine that could create economic empowerment for my people.

He hinted the decision was based on more than just preserving Indigenous culture.

“My great, great grandmother is buried on this country, my old people would be rolling in their grave if they knew that our culture is being hijacked for hidden agendas.

“It’s not right.”

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Wiradjuri elder Roy Ah-See has emerged as the loudest critic of the decision, saying it does nothing to financially empower Indigenous Australians. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

‘Never had a real job outside of parliament’

NSW Minerals CEO Stephen Galilee has rubbished Ms Plibersek’s assertion the project could simply select another site for the dam.

“This is political damage control from the Prime Minister and the minister involved (Tanya Plibersek) this decision is a dagger at the heart of the project,” Mr Galilee told Sky News host Steve Price this week.

“This is the kind of political damage control and rhetoric you get from people who have never had a real job outside of parliament; they have been in parliament for too long.

“To move that tailings dam means an entire redesign of the mine itself.”

Regis Resources CEO Jim Beyer agreed.

“We do not have options available … we’re virtually back to square one,” he told the Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit.

Speaking at a budget estimates hearing on Thursday, NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey revealed the axed mine would be a huge financial blow for the state.

“It’s fair to say that the royalties assumptions that are contained within the budget are reflective of the expected extractions of operating mines over the next four years,” he said.

“The applicant has made the point that, should such a mine operate, they expect to be paying circa $200m in royalties.

“Given the mine has not got approval to proceed, as is in respect to its tailing dams, the impact on the economy spans the impact in the construction phase, the operational phase, the export phase, as well as an impact on the state’s royalties income.”

Indigenous artist Nyree Reynolds lodged the application that led to the tailings dam being scrapped using the cultural heritage laws. She argued the site was of great cultural importance for the Wiradjuri people. Picture: Blayney Chronicle/ACM

Woman at centre of scandal

Indigenous artist Nyree Reynolds made the official objection to the dam proposal.

In 2021, Ms Reynolds lodged an application objecting to the dam under Section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act on behalf of Wiradjuri elders.

It’s understood the application was made with the support of the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation (WTOCWAC).

“I thought if I can do work with everyone and the ancestors to stop this ... because to kill the Belabula (river) by putting cement in the springs was unthinkable,” Reynold said in an interview provided to Guardian Australia by the federal environment department.

“So long (it’s been here), this little river – it’s only tiny but it’s our river.

“Many Dreaming stories follow its path and no one has the right to destroy this,” she added in the submission.

“No one… This river sustains life. It will not sustain life if the headwaters are poisoned... The Ancestors who are leaving will turn around and come back should this land be saved from the ravages of mining.”

The award-winning artist has previously described herself as being a “very light-skinned” descendant of a Wiradjuri woman “born in the 1820s”.

She clarified her heritage this week, revealing her mother was from Gamilaraay country while a distant ancestor was from Wiradjuri country.

“That’s common – some people have three different nations in their heritage,” she told The Australian.

Ms Reynolds celebrated the victory with a gathering of Wiradjuri locals two weeks ago.

“We knew that place was special because our old people have been talking about the Belubula for a long time,” she said.

“It’s a sacred songline … more than often, we get told our knowledge isn’t traditional enough, and we make things up.

“But we’ve been told [by our ancestors] to always stay on our songline, and talk straight, and tell the truth.

“And we did that, and we did that for Country, and we did it for our mob that come from south: my father’s people, my father’s Country.

“So there, that place will always be protected, and the waterways, and the sacred springs.”

She said she hoped “one day these mining companies” might “wake up” to the fact that “all water is sacred”.

“But for now… I just hope that our ancestors, and our old people, are proud of all of us.”