Rare order given to protect Wiradjuri sacred site from goldmine tailings dam

In issuing the protection order, environment minister Tanya Plibersek said protecting cultural heritage and development are not mutually exclusive'

• Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter
• Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community

The federal government has made a rare protection order under Indigenous heritage legislation to protect a sacred site near Blayney in western New South Wales from becoming the site of a tailings dam for a goldmine.

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, made a partial declaration under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection (ATSHIP) Act to protect part of the headwaters of the Belubula River on Kings Plains, which was the proposed site of a tailings dam for the McPhillamys goldmine.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia's fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter