About two weeks ago, Bathurst Regional Council and other stakeholders received a copy of a confidential report regarding an application under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection (ATSIHP) Act for an area on Mount Panorama - Wahluu.

The report, produced by an independent party in consultation with relevant stakeholders, recommended that Ms Ley not make a declaration under the act for a permanent protection order.

READ MORE: Report advises minister not to place a section 10 on kart track site

Cr North has criticised the minister for giving council and other stakeholders just two weeks to respond to the report, which he understands was provided to the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation in December.

He said the minister's actions were "absolutely disgusting", especially as she had spoken publicly of her intention to put a permanent protection order on the site prior to releasing that report to other stakeholders.

"I was shocked to find out that the minister could go on radio and say she has already done up a draft [declaration] suggesting a section 10 in this area when she had a report telling her that she shouldn't," Cr North said.

"Okay, you're going to ignore our report, but then you're going to ignore your report, then you're going to ignore the local Aboriginal land council, then you're going to ignore a local Aboriginal woman who did a study herself ... I am absolutely lost for words on it.

"I am so frustrated, because there's bigger things that we should be worrying about - roads and safety, water, and the improvement of this town - and we get caught up in a debate where the majority of the information supports the stance council has."

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Cr North has been consistent in his stance on the project, which is that council has followed the correct process, done due diligence, and should follow the advice from Extent Heritage.

In the absence of a consensus from the two major Aboriginal groups, the Traditional Owners group and the Bathurst Local Aboriginal Land Council, he believes the final decision should be based on the findings of the independent reports.

"One group says this, fair enough, the other group says that, so where do we go from there? We have two independent commissioned reports that come from two very different bodies, the Federal Government and council, and they actually back each other up," he said.

If the minister's decision contradicts the reports, Cr North wants council to investigate any options it might have for legal recourse.

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