Article by Paige Taylor, courtesy of The Australian.
Claims of ancient camp ovens, possible burial sites and an initiation area near a proposed $1bn NSW goldmine were examined and dismissed as having “no authenticity” in a cultural audit overseen by the Indigenous elders representing the local land council, according to senior Wiradjuri adviser Roy Ah-See.
An explosive letter provides the first detailed account of what is believed to have swayed Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to make a rare Section 10 declaration against the Blayney goldmine in central-west NSW in a last-minute intervention on cultural heritage grounds last month.
She controversially took the advice of a small charity over the Orange land council that holds land on behalf of local Wiradjuri people and has cultural authority for the area under NSW law.
In the letter to Ms Plibersek, obtained by The Weekend Australian, Mr Ah-See conveys the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council’s anger that the expertise of its elders was dismissed in favour of “baseless claims” of the dissident group and calls for an urgent review of the Section 10 evidence.
“You have made baseless claims now the accepted truth,” Mr Ah-See tells Ms Plibersek.
“You and your advisors (sic) do not have the skills to make these determinations. Surely Aboriginal culture and heritage decisions should be under the guidance of the Aboriginal Affairs Minister.
“OLALC are respectfully requesting a review of the Section 10 evidence, through proper consultation … OLALC have a voice and they are using it, they just want to know if you are listening.”
Mr Ah-See’s letter says the initial Section 10 application against the mine contained claims of camp oven sites, scar trees, ochre sites and possible burial sites aligned with the frontier wars.
According to Mr Ah-See, the Orange land council then insisted that mine proponent Regis Resources grant it access to the site so its own surveyors could conduct cultural audits. These surveyors are highly skilled and respected, Mr Ah-See says, and claims of camp ovens and multiple scar trees were rejected as having no authenticity.
However, the ochre site was found to be real and the land council negotiated with Regis that it would be protected along with a previously unknown scar tree, which would be preserved or relocated under the mine’s heritage management plan.
Lisa Paton, a former employee of the Orange land council and an opponent of the mine, registered a burial site on intensive farmland on the western edge of the proposed site in 2020 but it is outside the area formally protected by Ms Plibersek in her declaration.
Orange land council is satisfied that the rest of the site has been appropriately scanned and no other potential burial sites were identified.
“Further cultural audits were done in regard to the claim of an initiation area. No archaeological or other tangible evidence could be found supporting this claim,” Mr Ah-See writes.
“OLALC consulted the knowledge holder in regard to the intangible claims made and he confirmed there is no basis for these claims. You and your advisors (sic) have rejected his advice and have disrespected a highly regarded Wiradjuri elder and knowledge holder. How dare you!”
Mr Ah-See’s letter suggests that rival Indigenous opponents of the mine added to their claim over time. “When there was no further mention of camp ovens, scar trees and burial sites, OLALC then became aware of a song-line regarding the blue banded bee,” Mr Ah-See says.
“They (the Orange Local Aboriginal land Council) provided evidence from numerous highly respected elders that these song-lines have never previously existed. You and your advisors completely rejected their evidence and have disrespected these highly regard Wiradjuri elders. Your advisers never even spoke with them. This is disgraceful. It’s obvious your minds were made up.”
Ms Plibersek says she blocked the tailings dam site only and the mine can still proceed. Regis says it will take five to 10 years to find another viable site.
The Orange land council – which has a board elected by local Wiradjuri members – was opposed to the mine in 2019 but took a neutral position last year after it became satisfied the proposal would not impact any significant sites. While the NSW Aboriginal Land Council says it is the Orange land council that has the statutory responsibility to protect Aboriginal culture and heritage in the area, Ms Plibersek gave weight to the objections of the small Bathurst-based charity called the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation. It is a registered charity with 18 members listed with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations.
When asked for a response to Mr Ah-See and the Orange land council’s claims, Ms Plibersek’s office referred The Weekend Australian to remarks she made on Friday attacking the opposition. Ms Plibersek had reiterated to the ABC that her predecessor Sussan Ley once made a section 10 declaration against a go-kart track at Bathurst on advice from the same small charity.
“I listened to the Wiradjuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation … listened to the same group of people, used the same reasons that I have used to make the same type of declaration. Are the Coalition now saying that Sussan Ley was wrong when she made the same declaration when she was the environment minister? Or is it just that … the rules go out the window when they’re in opposition.”
One of the Wiradjuri corporation’s directors this week spoke publicly for the first time since Ms Plibersek blocked the tailings dam at the head of the Belubula River, telling the ABC that corporation members had been slandered, threatened, harassed and accused of lying.
Speaking about the site, Yanhadarrambal Jade Flynn told ABC News: “There’s 19 artefact scatters and 18 isolated finds. This proof of occupation and use of that site directly correlates to the intangible cultural heritage of the area. So, that’s the creation and dreaming stories and the song lines,” he said.
The Weekend Australian is aware of tensions between land councils such as the one in Orange and smaller, dissident or breakaway Indigenous groups. Some of the smaller groups resent that they struggle to be heard. And while land councils are landholders and eligible for funding from the overarching NSW Aboriginal Land Council, smaller groups often lack income. In turn, supporters of NSW’s land council network say it is the best available system to ensure the right people speak for country.
In his letter to Ms Plibersek, he writes: “You have created a category and given authority of a group of people outside of Native Title … your comments and decision has paved the way for all environmental groups to stop any economic development.”
On Friday, Mr Flynn, a Wiradjuri corporation director, said: “WTOCWAC has no comment at this time.”
