The state government has been condemned for cancelling a meeting with a Tea Gardens community group after it was suggested that one of its members may have failed a government background probity check.
After weeks of planning, Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty, Port Stephens MP Kate Washington and senior government bureaucrats were due to meet with the Myall River Action Group on Thursday and see first hand the environmental degradation caused by siltation at the river mouth.
The group has been lobbying for the best part of a decade for a permanent dredging solution to improve the estuary's ailing health and was hopeful the meeting would lead to a breakthrough.
On Wednesday, Ms Washington, who is also Minister for Families and Communities and Disability Inclusion, advised action group chairman Gordon Grainger that member Len Roberts should be removed from a list of invitees that had been forwarded for vetting.
Mr Roberts served as a Mid Coast councillor for 20 years, is a former Karuah Local Aboriginal Land chief executive and minister at the Tea Gardens Baptist Church.
A National Party member, he has been an active member of the Myall River Action Group since its foundation in 2008.
Mr Roberts settled a defamation case against the ABC earlier this year. It related to a November 2021 episode of Four Corners that alleged he had assisted the sale of Aboriginal Land Council land in Hawks Nest to the family of disgraced former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid.
The ABC published an unreserved apology to Mr Roberts as part of the settlement.
The action group refused to exclude Mr Roberts, backing his character and integrity, resulting in Ms Washington proposing a compromise where he could attend a general community meeting scheduled to take place at the Tea Gardens Hotel. But she insisted Mr Roberts could not be present on a ferry, which the party would travel on to the river mouth.
Mr Grainger refused the deal, which resulted in Ms Washington advising that the meeting with the group had been cancelled.
"Yesterday, I made the consequences of your decision very clear. I attempted to resolve it with a compromise position, but you again insisted on arrangements which were not possible," Ms Washington wrote in an email to Mr Grainger on Thursday morning.
"I'm deeply upset where this has landed, primarily because this was an opportunity for the community to share their concerns with the relevant minister regarding a major issue affecting the area."
But Mr Grainger described the ultimatum that had been issued to the group as a "disgrace".
"It's not up to them to dictate to us who can attend," he said.
"Len Roberts is an inaugural and valued member of the group and was instrumental in helping us to work with various state governments over the years.
"We are a small group. Everyone gets a vote and we stick by each other."
Ms Washington and Ms Moriarty declined to comment on the reasons why they would not attend a meeting where Mr Roberts was present, however, Mr Grainger said it had been inferred that he had failed a government probity check.
Mr Roberts told the Newcastle Herald that he was appalled by the turn of events.
"My record speaks for itself as a member of the community," he said.
"I would like them to articulate their reasons (relating to his exclusion) and to apologise to me."
Another group member Mike Ferris said the episode had been extremely disappointing.
"We put in a lot of effort into today. We had ferries, vehicles and lunch organised.
"We tried to get as many people involved as possible, including a lot of people from government departments that are hard to get hold of."
Meanwhile Ms Washington and Ms Moriarty went on an alternative tour of the river with the Tea Gardens Progress Association on Thursday.
"I'm speechless," Mr Grainger said when he learned of the trip.
"We are concerned they don't have the experience that we have gained over 17 years."
Ms Washington said the trip was an opportunity to meet with local residents about the longstanding issues facing the Myall River.
"The health of the Myall River has been a priority of mine since I was elected in 2015. Now, as a government MP, I am focused on finding solutions and achieving outcomes," she said.
"I have worked closely with Myall River Action Group for years, and I look forward to working with them into the future.
"After Tea Gardens, Minister Moriarty and I will be meeting with NSW Department of Primary Industries Fisheries and oyster farmers at Taylors Beach to discuss the disease outbreak impacting this important local industry."
