Doorstop 15 October 2026

Subjects: Federal Court ruling on McPhillamys gold mine, Australia as an energy superpower, EPBC Act reform, environmental approvals, NSW regional economic development and job creation.

E&OE....

Senator Bragg:

Well, it's fantastic to be here this morning with Susan McDonald and Jamie Chaffey, and we're going to talk to you about the gold mine situation in western New South Wales. And this is now a great opportunity for Murray Watt to do the right thing and to approve this gold mine, because it is supported by the local Aboriginal Land Council, it's supported by the local businesses, it's supported by the state Labor Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns. The only person, the only institution that seems to be against this is the Albanese Government.

So you have to ask yourself, who are they trying to represent? If all the other stakeholders want this investment, want this opportunity for new jobs and investment in western New South Wales. I make the point that Murray Watt and Anthony Albanese said that they would fix the EPBC laws. Mr Chalmers, The Treasurer, said at his Roundtable back 18 months ago that the EPBC reform was going to unlock productivity and investment. These guys have made the EPBC worse than ever. It is impossible to get approvals through. It is a stagnant process. It is in bits and pieces: regulation, subordinate legislation. It is a quagmire, and it is a sinkhole. And what Australia needs is more investment and more jobs. And what we have is a government that has promised to fix this ridiculous environmental law, they have failed to do that, and they've made it worse than it ever has been before.

Susan McDonald:

Thanks, Andrew. Well said. Well, Australia should be a resources superpower. We have all of the necessary resources, whether it be energy resources, critical minerals, rare earths. But at some point, the Government has got to be willing to make decisions to properly assess projects and then, if they stack up, to approve them. Under the Albanese Labor Government, we now have so much uncertainty that investment is stalling in Australia.

We have seen the International Energy Agency reporting that on the Australian Government's own data, that investment into critical minerals in Australia has fallen by 30% at the same time when other regions have increased by 20 to 25%. We live in a competitive world where the nations are all competing for investment, and Australia has to act with urgency. And to see a Labor minister, in Minister Plibersek, use a subjective decision-making process—I just want to read to you what the judge said: “The minister's decision was not based in fact, and instead was made with material deficiency in the process and without authority.”

If we're not giving authority to the recognised traditional owners and Land Councils, who are we giving recognition to? I am very concerned because, first, we had confected cultural history evidence provided in the Tipakalippa case, the Browse Project off Northern Territory, and now we're seeing this lack of authority given around the Blayney decision for the McPhillamys mine.

Section 10 has been abused by this minister. We need to have certainty of investment so that Australia can continue to be a resources superpower and can be the beneficiary of the royalties, the corporate taxes, and the wonderful regional jobs. I'll hand over to Jamie Chaffey.

Jamie Chaffey:

Thank you, Susan. Yesterday's Federal Court decision is certainly welcomed in the local area of Blayney and right across the wider region of the central west of New South Wales. Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister a question in Question Time about who he would make accountable for this decision, and the response was certainly underwhelming. In fact, there was no real certainty at all that the Government would be supporting the Federal Court's decision, and now we're waiting and watching very closely to see what the Albanese Government, and particularly Minister Watt, what his approach will be after this Federal Court decision yesterday.

But I know, talking to the Local Council and community in the Blayney area, the excitement around the support from this decision, the justification for the community's support for Regis Resources also for backing their project, for the McPhillamys gold mine to continue on. I'd like to call out to all of those for their commitment over a long period of time, and also for those community members. There are more than 600 to 700 jobs that will now go ahead if supported by this government during construction, and around about 270 jobs for ongoing. That is so important for a small community like Blayney. And for those people who live in that industry, many already serve in that industry, in a wider area across New South Wales, in gold mines or right across the country, who are certainly looking forward to the opportunity in their own backyard to be able to use their skill and their trade through this process if it is supported, as I said, by the Federal Government. We're watching very closely to see the actions of this Government in the coming days.

Susan McDonald:

Any questions?

Terrific. Thank you very much.

Senator Bragg:

Thank you.

[Ends]

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