The Federal Court has overturned an Aboriginal protection order covering part of the billion-dollar McPhillamys goldmine project near Blayney in New South Wales, ruling the decision-making process behind it was 'fundamentally flawed.' Justice James Stellios found that when Wiradjuri elders revealed the blue-banded bee Dreaming story in December 2023, officials should have treated it as a new application rather than extra detail, meaning the public never had an adequate chance to respond to the specific claim for protection.
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James Stellios
Australian federal court judge