NSW government argues Plibersek’s Blayney decision made ‘at their expense’
State politicians were at pains to show other ways Blayney mine opponents could have protected the site before Tanya Plibersek blocked the project, as her own department described the bid as a “last resort”.
A trove of new documents has laid bare the desperate attempt by three NSW Labor ministers to assure Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek that the Blayney goldmine project was culturally and environmentally sound – and to dissuade her from sinking the project.
The documents also reveal Ms Plibersek’s state counterpart Penny Sharpe and NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully sought to give confidence in their own heritage assessments before the mine proposal was stalled.
“It is important that both of our governments align our efforts on supporting investment in Australia’s critical minerals while protecting Indigenous heritage, and that these goals are pursued in parallel – not at the expense of one another,” NSW Resources Minister Courtney Houssos told Ms Plibersek in a letter sent two days after the decision to block the proposed tailings dam became public knowledge.
The August 21 letter was released this week under a Senate Order for the Production of Documents requested by opposition environment spokesperson Jonathon Duniam.
Ms Houssos pointed out that critical minerals and hi-tech metals were crucial to the technologies that would lower Australia’s emissions and that the project would create 860 jobs over the 15-year life of the mine in construction, operations and rehabilitation.
The project would also inject an additional $67m annually to the local economy and surrounding communities of Blayney, Bathurst, Cabonne and Orange, she noted.
“The NSW government is committed to building a supportive investment environment to ensure that these minerals can be developed,” Ms Houssos said.
“We are also committed to providing a stable and robust regulatory framework that ensures project proponents manage the environmental, heritage and social impacts of mining development.”
Ms Houssos’s plea came ahead of an August 27 meeting with Regis Resources chief executive Jim Beyer where she sought to keep the developer of the McPhillamys goldmine proposal on side.
Soon after, Premier Chris Minns backed in Ms Houssos at odds with his federal counterparts.
The Senate order released the contents of Ms Plibersek’s mandatory consultative process with Ms Sharpe and Mr Scully, where they made efforts to explain the state government’s efforts in surveying.
“I appreciate the complexity of the matter before you,” Ms Sharpe said in an initial reply, dated December 18.
“Heritage NSW was satisfied with the adequacy of the … reports that informed the assessment.”
She conceded intangible cultural heritage, a central part of Ms Plibersek’s eventual decision, wasn’t formally assessed under NSW law; however, Mr Scully argued surveys of the site commissioned by the state government still considered it.
“The public hearing process included comprehensive discussion and consideration by the commission on Aboriginal cultural heritage values from a number of (registered Aboriginal parties), including the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council,” he said.
“I also note that the Section 10 application has been under way for more than three years and that other statutory processes available under NSW legislation, such as seeking declaration as an Aboriginal Place … or for listing under the Heritage Act as a site of state significance have not been sought by the Section 10 applicant.”
Internal Department of Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water correspondence characterised heritage submissions under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act as “an avenue of last resort”, saying “before making a declaration under the ATSIHP Act, the minister is required to consult with states and territories about whether their laws provide effective protection”.
On Thursday, Regis launched proceedings against Ms Plibersek in the Federal Court, having signposted in an ASX announcement on August 19 it was “considering all legal options”.
The Australian understands communication between Regis and the DCCEEW has been limited since August as it waited to see if an alternative to the recent Federal Court judicial review could be found.
While Ms Plibersek has previously said four alternate sites for the tailings dam could bring the project back on track, Regis contends three of the four would also coincide with the declared area.
The fourth was assessed as having the most detrimental impact to the surrounding community, river and environment.
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