Nationals Leader David Littleproud pledges to build Blayney gold mine

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has hit out at Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek after she controversially dudded the proposed site of a gold mine.

The Nationals have vowed to approve the Blayney gold mine if the Coalition wins the next election, after Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek controversially held up the $1bn project.

Visiting the central western NSW town of Blayney on Wednesday, Mr Littleproud called on Ms Plibersek to provide the “statement of reason” which led her to reject the tailings dam from being built on the headwaters of the Belubula River.

Mr Littleproud said the axing of the mine would not only be devastating for the local community, but also would risk future Australian investment.

“We will approve this mine as soon as we’re elected, because all the approvals have been granted, there should be surety” he said.

“There should be certainty to the resource sector that if they do the right thing, if they invest hundreds of millions of dollars into these types of projects, to give certainty, they need to be able to know that governments will follow through.

“(The resources sector is looking at this) and saying: ‘Something’s not right, and they’re going to take their money and they’re going to go somewhere else, and they’re going to take those jobs somewhere else’.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud said the Coalition would approve the mine at its current proposed site if it wins the election. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman

Ms Plibersek rejected the site of the tailings dam after rejection from a small Indigenous group who opposed the dam location on cultural grounds.

Mr Littleproud has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to call Regis Resources chief executive Jim Beyer, who own the site of the McPhillamys mine, to “understand the failings of Minister Plibersek”.

Opposition spokeswoman for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price questioned why Ms Plibersek had rejected the site based on the views of a minor Indigenous group, and not the Orange Land Council, who backed the site.

“What is the point of having a land council if the minister is going to set a precedent, a very dangerous precedent, that can overlook this entity and go ahead and listen to any group that decides to inject itself into the decision making process,” she said.

“To be anti-development is not good for this country when we want to attract investment for the benefit of everyone, but particularly so our Indigenous community members and those marginalised members of community who want to make sure that adults have a job.”

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek advised Regis Resources to find another site for the tailings dam. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Ms Plibersek has maintained the tailings dam cannot be built in the proposed area, due its impact on the river.

“So they’ve told us that they’ve investigated four sites for the tailings dam. I certainly would urge them to have a look at some of those other sites they’ve investigated,” she told reporters on Tuesday.

Ms Plibersek also rejected that it would take Regis another five to 10 years to get the necessary approvals, stating on-time approvals had doubled since she became minister.

“We can do these things very quickly when the projects are designed right, to avoid unnecessary negative impacts on the environment. It’s a great example of us working constructively with industry,” she said.