World · East Asia & Pacific · 2 hrs ago
Federal Court overturns protection order over part of NSW goldmine site
Australia’s Federal Court overturned an Aboriginal protection order covering part of the McPhillamys goldmine site near Blayney, New South Wales.
The order, made by then-environment minister Tanya Plibersek in 2024, was intended to protect the Belubula River’s headwaters and springs, where the mine’s tailings dam was planned.
Wiradjuri elders shared a Blue Banded Bee Dreaming story after a government report on the protection application had been given to the minister.
The judge found officials should have treated the story as a new application and restarted the required public consultation.
The process did not give the public a proper chance to respond to the more specific claim for protection, the judge concluded.
The goldmine project had received state and federal approvals in 2023, but the ruling did not decide whether the protection claims themselves were justified.
The decision was about how the application was handled, not the merits of protecting the site.
The Federal Court overturned an Aboriginal protection order covering part of the McPhillamys goldmine site near Blayney, New South Wales.
Justice James Stellios found the process leading to the order was fundamentally flawed because new information was not treated as a new application.
The order, made by then-environment minister Tanya Plibersek in August 2024, aimed to protect the Belubula River’s headwaters and springs.
The new information was a blue-banded bee Dreaming story shared by Wiradjuri elders.
The judgment focused on the handling and timing of information, not the merits of the protection applications.
- Who
- The Federal Court, with Justice James Stellios giving the reasons. Regis Resources contested the protection order.
- What
- The court overturned an Aboriginal protection order over part of the McPhillamys goldmine site.
- When
- The order was made in August 2024. The judgment was published on October 19, 2026.
- Where
- The McPhillamys goldmine site near Blayney, New South Wales, including the headwaters and springs of the Belubula River.
- Why
- The judge found that new information about the blue-banded bee Dreaming story should have been treated as a new application, with a fresh reporting and public consultation process.
Wiradjuri elders seeking protection
Regis Resources
Protection
Wiradjuri elders seeking protection
The elders shared a blue-banded bee Dreaming story to support protection of the area.
Regis Resources
Regis Resources contested the validity of the Aboriginal protection order in the Federal Court.
The McPhillamys Gold Project received state approval.
The project received federal approval.
Aboriginal elders provided details of the blue-banded bee Dreaming story.
Tanya Plibersek made the protection declaration under Section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
The ABC reported that Justice James Stellios had published redacted reasons for overturning the order.
- Project
- McPhillamys Gold Project
- Location
- Near Blayney, New South Wales
- Protected area
- Headwaters and springs of the Belubula River
- Order date
- August 2024
- Minister
- Tanya Plibersek
- Key information
- Blue-banded bee Dreaming story shared by Wiradjuri elders
What people are saying
the decision-making process was fundamentally flawed because of the failure to treat the revelation of the Blue Banded Bee Dreaming story as a new application
In my view, it could not be said that the public were given an effective opportunity to address the more specific and particular claim for protection