Mining conservation land still on the Govt's agenda

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Wed, 21 Jul 2010 6:08p.m.

By Duncan Garner

Prime Minister John Key says he's adamant more mining will take place on conservation land outside of the protected areas.

But the Greens say the Government has no mandate based on the 37,000 submissions it received, and the Maori Party is warning iwi will put up a fight if the diggers go onto public lands.

'Drill, baby, drill' is the face-saving cry coming from the Government after yesterday's backdown. The high-value protected land won't be touched, but it's now eyeing up huge chunks of the conservation estate to be opened up to mining.

“I think it's very likely there will be mining on conservation land,” says Mr Key.

Areas in the north will be surveyed for potential mining - including a number of conservation sites, such as the Re Paki ecological site beside Cape Reinga.

On the West Coast of the South Island, huge areas will be surveyed - most of it conservation land.

Maori MP Hone Harawira says if the Government brings the diggers north, there will be a fight.

“The Government won't get far without a serious meeting with iwi,” he says.

The Government says it has a mandate to mine areas outside of Schedule 4 protected land. But the Greens point out, from 37,000 submissions just 314 promoted further mining.

Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee says he didn't know how many submissions promoted expanded mining activity.

“I don't know,” he tells 3 News. “No doubt you have looked through the 37,000 in order to report accurately tonight.”

Meanwhile, 3 News understands two significant mining announcements are due shortly - a coal mining expansion on the West Coast, and a large iron sands deal south of Wanganui.

Mr Key is even hinting at it.

“I still believe the big opportunities lie in other areas of the country, like iron sands,” he says.

Labour says National is still taking a gung-ho approach to mining on conservation land, but Labour needs to be careful of hypocrisy here. It approved 118 mines on DoC land over nine years, and when it left office in 2008, 82 mines were still operating on conservation land.

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Comments

15 Aug 2010 01:20a.m.

nick a wrote:

maori are upset because they havnt been paid out over it yet. Take a look at what the local iwi did to the mokhianui river in giving consent to dam it after being paid out. If you are going to flood it you might as well mine the s**t out of it first.

05 Aug 2010 09:28p.m.

ahmad Abdul-Ghaffar wrote:

you must think long term what if we do this and then we run out of gold we will have no source of income. so we need to think about this carefully and map it out whichever choice we make

23 Jul 2010 07:25a.m.

Frabj wrote:

Some how I think JK did not get this message: the majority of New Zealand does NOT want mining on conservation land. He does not have any mandate at all. Most people want a sound economic sustainable strategy which lays the foundations for New Zealand in 21st century. We need to use our pristine areas not destroy them. We kick up one hell of a fight ot proteect it that is for sure!!!!!!!

22 Jul 2010 05:05p.m.

Darren wrote:

New Zealand's conservation land is one of the few things good about this country and tourism is one of our biggest export earners - the government wants to permanently wreck this for a few extra dollars. It makes me physically sick.

22 Jul 2010 11:12a.m.

Huang wrote:

Get over it! It is just a very vocal minority that are against mining. Submissions do not represent the majority views. All you see at these protests are regulars like the Mintoes, Bradfords and beneficiaries who don't contribute anything.

22 Jul 2010 05:49a.m.

Brent wrote:

I no of a dead land covered in rotting wood, It should have been cut down and milled but Greene's stopped that, instead the tree fell down and lay in muck. West coast rains come and flood the valley and cause destruction pulling the wood and stripping the soil, The native moss is gone and Blackberry's have started covering the lower slops, the upper Beach trees are starting to full (to late to fel)the land is gutted. I find Gold on this land.

21 Jul 2010 09:42p.m.

Mani wrote:

No u drop u bunch of clown s,conservation don't own the land they only lease it,so watch it fatso,less u want a war on your hand and the hold world breathing down your necks,my title of ownership up there is standing and legal,not your ses

21 Jul 2010 09:40p.m.

Sophia wrote:

I actually thought that New Zealand is suppose to be a green, clean country. So how come the Government is actually considering to dig up the conservation land just so they can find out if there is any special minerals brewing within New Zealand. It's also a party clash, with Labour, National and Green party. My understanding is that the Maori party, and Maori Iwi's are furious that John keys want to put it into action, even tho there's no date, I still think its just a campaign plan for John Keys. “Vote for John Keys if you want to save the conservation area's”. Maori party would jump to save the conservation land and sign up with National, just to be let down again.

21 Jul 2010 09:31p.m.

Ian wrote:

Good we need to pay for our increasing debt. some how. There is no free money which musrt be a surprise to the Greenies. Key is smart - aim for the middle ground where the majority of the votes are.

This is the joke:
Labour is full of S..t. - bunch of hypocrits. Funny how the left ignore this fact.

"Labour says National is still taking a gung-ho approach to mining on conservation land, but Labour needs to be careful of hypocrisy here. It approved 118 mines on DoC land over nine years, and when it left office in 2008, 82 mines were still operating on conservation land".

21 Jul 2010 07:37p.m.

TWE wrote:

Just as I thought. Aim high, then you can easily get away with mining the less controversial conservation areas while backing down on the more controversial ones to appease the public.