The fight is now over to bring the department store to the town after it first showed interest in developing there eight years ago.

A barrage of land claims by local Aboriginal elder groups over the past several years, who say the oval is an Aboriginal burial and reconciliation site, is believed to have affected its decision to pull out.

While the company claimed the project became financially unviable in a statement released on Thursday, Moree Plains Shire mayor Katrina Humphries, who had been an advocate of bringing the store to town, says the issue boils down to a much larger and “disturbing” scale.

Cr Humphries questioned whether the Moree community was being punished by the state government for its anti-coal seam gas stance and said the Big W development application was the latest in a line of local projects to fail getting over the line.

Cr Humphries did not deny that the Aboriginal land claims and dispute that followed added to the withdrawal but felt the council’s choice to put a moratorium on coal seam gas applications almost a year ago had been a factor.

“I’m disturbed about the whole thing – are we being punished as a community for our great stand on coal seam gas?” she asked.

“Is it far-fetched?”

Cr Humphries said the problem rested with the government and its inability to make a decision cost the community their Big W.

To add further insult to injury, Cr Humphries said the council had just lodged the development application for the site eight days ago and now Big W pulled the pin.

“It took time and considerable amounts of money for that to happen,” she said.

Cr Humphries said she wanted the state government to answer these questions and more, starting with the local member for Barwon, Kevin Humphries.

When asked if the town was being held accountable for its coal seam gas stance, Mr Humphries said those claims were “ridiculous”. “It’s a commercial decision, it’s nothing to do with coal seam gas,” he said.

Mr Humphries said it was just the way business went and the mayor’s comments reflected her disappointment and frustration with the

decision.

“The mayor is disappointed, but the reality is, we’ll move on and find other developments,” he said.

He said Big W, or Woolworths Limited’s, decision to seek the crown land of Taylor Oval to build on had triggered the Aboriginal land rights claims and by pulling out, it was also protecting its brand.

Demonstrations and protests had been mounted by local people against the company constructing the complex and an associated car park on the site over the past few years.

Cr Humphries felt the needs of the few against Big W on Taylor Oval outweighed the needs of the many in this case.

“Many members of the community could have used a discount department store,” she said.

Cr Humphries said democracy had failed in delivering a fair decision and the loss would have negative ramifications on the state’s future development applications on crown lands.

A spokeswoman for the Environment Defender’s Office, which that represented the Moree Local Aboriginal Land Council numerous times during the claims process, said the council had no problems with Big W coming to Moree but was concerned about it coming to the Taylor Oval site.