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A local Aboriginal Land Council executive has expressed her relief after an Aboriginal group had an application to have the peak of Mount Panorama declared as a sacred site blocked by the local government.
Fears had mounted about how the mountain would host the iconic Bathurst 1000 race, after The Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation had sought to register an area in McPhillamy Park, on Mount Panorama's peak, as a heritage site.
The Corporation, who last year made headlines after they successfully stopped proposals to block the establishment of a gold mine in Central West New South Wales, issued an emergency application under Section 9 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (ATSIHP).
The application was made after the organisation scattered the ashes of a former member Uncle Brian Grant on Mount Panorama in 2022. The Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System registers the peak as a ‘burial site and ceremonial site for Wiradjuri Lore Man Mallyan Merriganoury, Grant’s Wiradjuri name.
However, Murray Watt, the minister for the environment and water, blocked their proposed application.
Senator Watt had not been satisfied that the application had satisfied the purposes of Section 9 of the ATSIHP Act.
A local Aboriginal Land Council executive has expressed her relief after an Aboriginal group had an application to have the peak of Mount Panorama declared as a sacred site blocked by the local government
Murray Watt, the minister for the environment and water, blocked the proposed application having not been satisfied that the application had satisfied the purposes of Section 9 of the ATSIHP Act
‘This is a pleasing result and supports the council’s position in regard to Mount Panorama,’ Bathurst Regional Council general manager David Sherley stated.
It comes on the eve of the iconic race, as Aussie star Brodie Kostecki will look to defend his Bathurst 1000 title this weekend on Mount Panorama.
Had the application been successful, questions had arisen over how the race would take place, with the chief executive of Bathurst Local Aboriginal Land Council, Toni-Lee Scott, expressing her concerns over the application.
‘We are certainly relieved,’ Scott said. ‘If the minister didn’t decline this application, it would have definitely set a dangerous precedent moving forward.
‘The Grant family, along with some other persons, filed an application for an emergency Section 9 to stop the desecration of the area.
And speaking on how the application would have affected the race, she added: ‘Most definitely the [McPhillamy] park could have been cornered off where there was no access.’
After the application had been made, former Chairperson of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and former co-chir of the Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council, Roy Ah-See, explained to 2GB that the authority to make such an application belonged to Bathurst’s Local Aboriginal Land Council, not the Wiradyuri group.
‘When are these people going to understand that if you want to put a claim to a piece of land, go through the Commonwealth Native Title Act and legislation and put a claim on it. Be legitimate,’ he explained.
It comes on the eve of the iconic race, as Aussie star Brodie Kostecki will look to defend his Bathurst 1000 title this weekend on Mount Panorama.
Roy Ah-See Chairperson of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, claimed that 'common sense had prevailed'
He later expressed his concerns over how spreading ashes on a certain piece of land formed the constitution of a rights claim.
‘To utilise and use it in this way is disrespectful to the people who have gone before us. You can't do this,' he said.
On Wednesday, Ah-See also expressed his relief that the move had been blocked, stating: ‘Common sense has prevailed here.
‘This whole legislation needs to be reviewed and looked at and luckily I’ve seen what some of the changes are going to be to the legislation and if you’re not a statutory authority or you don’t have an approved native title claim.
‘Corporations can’t put in these claims to Section 9 because it is just, it makes a mockery of legitimate Aboriginal culture and heritage.’
‘You can’t do this, a lot of people who have fought for protection of cultural heritage in this country for many, many years, the land rights system, which is the largest member-based organisation in the country, which is a statutory authority under the NSW Parliament, would never do this.
‘Again, common sense has prevailed, and I’ve got to say for the minister, it was a great outcome for everyone.’
‘Murray’s office needs to be acknowledged for this decision. Like the Blayney Gold Mine, economic empowerment is the way to self-determination for Aboriginal people. To stop a billion-dollar gold mine based on a corporation is crazy.’
Daily Mail has contacted the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation for comment.
