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Federal opposition leader told audience at Roy Hill mine that parents and teachers should instruct children about benefits of mining.

Peter Dutton was flown to a party at the Pilbara mine of Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, by another billionaire rich-lister, where he made a speech suggesting parents and teachers talk to children about the positives of the mining sector.

In a speech at Hancock Prospecting’s Roy Hill mine in November last year, Dutton repeatedly thanked those working in resources. He described the work carried out at the mine as a “national treasure”.

“We need to hear more parents tell their children that the schools they attend, and the cities they live in, are only possible because of the mining sector,” the federal opposition leader told the crowd.

“We need to hear more teachers tell the students that the roads, the bridges, the railways that we travel on have been constructed thanks to your sector. Too many of our teachers are telling kids to be ashamed of the fact that their parents work in the mining sector. We need to turn that around.”

Rinehart hosted the party at her iron ore mine on 22 November as part of a lavish celebration to mark national mining day – a celebration founded by Rinehart herself.

The Australian Financial Review reported at the time that Dutton attended the party, and that Hancock Prospecting also held events in Bali during the same period to celebrate national agriculture and related industries day, also founded by Rinehart.

In a December update to the parliamentary register of interests, under the category “travel or hospitality”, the Liberal leader disclosed “22 November 2023 – return flight Perth to Ginbata (Roy Hill) courtesy of Warburton Group”.

In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Dutton said it was “public knowledge Mr Dutton attended and spoke at the National Mining & Related Industries Day event last year in his capacity as leader of the opposition”.

“All necessary and relevant disclosures to the parliamentary register have been made,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The Warburton Group, according to its website, “is a private family office founded by Tim Roberts whose heritage evolved from the family’s foundations of construction, development and property investment”. It has investments in mining, infrastructure, aviation and agriculture among other assets.

Roberts is Australia’s 69th richest person, according to the AFR’s 2023 rich list, with $1.93bn in wealth from property, investments and resources. Roberts’ brother, Andrew, is 159th on the list and is worth $885m from property. Rinehart herself leads the list with a total wealth of $37.41bn.

Photographs from the Roy Hill party, posted on the Hancock website, show mining machinery lit up in luminous colours with guests decked out in pink hi-vis vests sitting at large outdoor tables.

Dutton, also wearing hi-vis, was pictured making a speech at the event as well as sitting beside Rinehart at a table featuring fellow Coalition MP Keith Pitt and the Perth lord mayor, Basil Zempilas.