So management knew all along and no doubt some insiders, now we can assume IMO thats the reason SP was in decline well before shock trading halt...
any wonder it didn't take anytime at all to adjust the accounts for day after resume trading just before EOFY reported
www.theaustralian.com.au
True depth revealed of Blayney gold mine affair
Simon Benson
7 - 9 minutes
Tanya Plibersek has been accused of secretly overruling the Environment Department’s hand-picked Indigenous cultural assessor in her decision to declare a heritage order against the $1bn Regis gold mine in NSW.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has been accused of secretly overruling her own department’s hand-picked Indigenous cultural assessor in her decision to declare a heritage order against the $1bn Regis gold mine in NSW, fuelling claims that the Albanese government made a political decision that has effectively scuttled the mine.
The Weekend Australian can reveal Anthony Albanese also ignored formal pleadings three months ago from the company behind the Blayney mine project that it would fall over if Ms Plibersek followed through with a threat to slap a section 10 heritage order on the mine.
The revelations follow the NSW Labor government’s accusation its federal counterpart overrode state environmental and cultural heritage approvals based on the same contested evidence that the development would destroy sacred ground.
The Weekend Australian has confirmed Regis Resources wrote to the Prime Minister on June 7 requesting an “urgent phone call” to discuss the Regis McPhillamys project following advice from Ms Plibersek that she was poised to declare an effective stop work order on much of the project’s site under federal law.
Mr Albanese ignored the explicit warnings from the company that the federal government would be overriding NSW planning laws and its own environmental laws by slapping a section 10 order, a rarely used instrument under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Heritage Protection Act, due to Indigenous heritage concerns.
Mr Albanese has since declared he supported the mine, backing his Environment Minister’s claim the heritage order did not stop the mine and a new tailings dam could be located elsewhere. This is despite explicit advice to Mr Albanese and Ms Plibersek that a new tailings dam site would require a five to 10-year approval process and render the current project unviable.
Mr Albanese was also advised in the letter that a special assessor appointed by the government under the act had advised Ms Plibersek against making the order against the mine.
“The independent section 10 reporter (a procedural appointment made under ATSIHPA) recommended that a declaration impacting McPhillamys not be made,” the letter said. “I am writing to request an urgent phone call to discuss extremely concerning and potentially precedent setting restrictions that we understand could be imposed …”
The site of the tailings dam for the Regis mine. Picture: Rohan Kelly
The site of the tailings dam for the Regis mine. Picture: Rohan Kelly
The Prime Minister’s office refused to reveal what discussions were held between Mr Albanese’s office and Ms Plibersek’s office following receipt of the letter.
Ms Plibersek has claimed that her decision to uphold the section 10 application, made on behalf of a group of 18 people but rejected by the local Aboriginal Land Council, was based on concerns that sacred ground would be destroyed by the construction of a tailings dam associated with the mine.
The Australian understands that Ms Plibersek ignored the advice of the special cultural heritage reporter assigned to the case, who advised against her making the section 10 application against the mine on this basis. A spokesperson for Ms Plibersek said the assignment of a special reporter to assess the case was only one factor taken into consideration when the minister made her decision.
Ms Plibersek, who flagged her decision to the company in June, didn’t announce the decision until two weeks ago.
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies also called Mr Albanese and the office of Resources Minister Madeleine King’s office in early June to warn of the consequences of the decision but received no reply.
Ms Plibersek’s office refused to confirm whether the reporter assigned under the law had advised against placing a heritage order against the mine.
“The minister acted on the evidence and followed the advice and recommendation of her department – just like Sussan Ley did in a similar case when she was minister in the former Liberal government,” said a spokesperson for Ms Plibersek.
The Prime Minister’s office sought to distance itself from the issue when asked by The Weekend Australian for a response to the letter, saying the Environment Minister was responsible for the decision.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek vetoing a $1 billion gold mine is increasing the “sovereign risk” of trying to get any sort of project up in this nation, says former Queensland premier Campbell Newman. “This needs some very careful scrutiny,” he told Sky News host Steve Price. “I think, potentially, there’s now a threshold there for it to be referred to the national anti-corruption body.”
The letter to Mr Albanese raises questions about his declared support for the project this week and his claims that it could still go ahead despite the company’s direct warnings to him in June.
The two-page letter explicitly said that a section 10 declaration would kill the mine It said due process had been abandoned and flew in the face of the government’s own appointed reporter who advised against a heritage order being made.
The letter said a section 10 ruling against would make the project completely unviable, or face a potential five to 10-year re-approval process.
It said $325m had already been spent on the project in acquisition, engineering and approvals work and that hundreds of new jobs and $190m to $200m in royalties to the NSW government would be put at risk. The Coalition will seek to overturn Ms Plibersek’s decision when parliament resumes next week through a disallowance motion in the Senate.
Peter Dutton accused Ms Plibersek of seeking to gain political advantage in her fight against the Greens for votes.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has “more than irritated” the overwhelming majority of people in the Central West, says The Daily Telegraph’s Editor Ben English. “Who see this as a swipe from an inner city minister,” he told Sky News host Sharri Markson. His remarks come as Ms Plibersek faces backlash over her decision to veto a $1 billion gold mine. “There was genuine anger there today in Orange.”
“I think that is exactly what is playing out here at the moment,” the Opposition Leader said.
“What Tanya Plibersek and Anthony Albanese need to hear is that there is a human face to the consequences of decisions being made for political reasons,” he said.
While the Greens are yet to clear their position through party room, Adam Bandt is widely expected announce his party will vote with Labor on the motion, due to be brought before the senate on September 9.
The Australian understands two other members of the crossbench are currently committed to voting with the government – former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe and ACT independent David Pocock – leaving the Coalition short of the 39 votes it would need to pass the motion.
Additional reporting: Sarah Ison
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