Former Aboriginal Land Council chair Roy Ah-See claims his culture has been “hijacked” for “hidden agendas” after Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek knocked back the development of a gold mine.

“It undermines the very existence of my people’s culture and the structures we have for who speaks for country,” he said during the 2024 Bush Summit in Orange on Thursday afternoon.

“I’m very, very annoyed because how are we going to close the gap? The biggest killer of Aboriginal people in this country is alcohol and drugs, it’s absolute poverty and welfare dependency.

“And here we’ve got a minister who’s knocking back a billion-dollar mine that could create economic empowerment for my people.”