MEDIA RELEASE 7 December 2025
Shadow Attorney-General and Federal Member for Fisher, Andrew Wallace MP, says new revelations that the Albanese Government sought a 30-year suppression order over evidence used to block the $1 billion Blayney gold mine raise serious questions about what the Government is trying to hide.
A report in The Australian yesterday revealed that the Federal Court, following an extraordinary application for secrecy by Government lawyers, has ordered that evidence behind former environment minister Tanya Plibersek’s decision remain blocked from public view until 2055, preventing any public scrutiny of the decision.
Professor Greg Craven, a constitutional law expert and academic, has notably described the scale of the suppression order as “extraordinary”, warning that hiding the evidence and reasons for the secrecy undermines the principle that “justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done”.
Even the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council, the appointed Indigenous authority of the region, says it did not seek to suppress the evidence. This raises serious questions about who or what the Government is really trying to protect and further undermines public confidence in the integrity of the heritage assessment process.
Mr Wallace said the Government’s pursuit of such an exceptional suppression order demands answers.
“When the Government uses taxpayers’ money to go to Court to block evidence for 30 years, Australians have a right to know why and what the Government is trying to hide”.
The Government also relied on a claim involving the “blue-banded bee dreaming story” to block a part of the project, the contents of which were never publicly disclosed or subjected to independent scrutiny, leaving the basis of the decision untested. This secrecy means the community cannot know whether the evidence was well-founded, demonstrating a blatant disregard for procedural fairness and trust in the integrity of government decision making.
When a billion-dollar regional project is stopped, Australians deserve to know why – not be made to wait until 2055.
Mr Wallace said these revelations are just the latest example in a broader pattern of secrecy under the Albanese Government, despite its facade of transparency and accountability.
“The Albanese Government promised an agenda of accountability and transparency. But instead, whether it is this 30-year suppression order or attempts to undermine our FOI system, what it has delivered is secrecy and an erosion of public trust”.
[ENDS]
Media Contact: Brendan West – 0402 556 646 – Brendan.west@aph.gov.au
