Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:59a.m.
Opinion by Duncan Garner
Mining 7058 hectares of previously protected Conservation Estate is easily National's most controversial policy decision to date. Stand-by for the scrap. This pits conservationists against capitalists.
The decision has been delayed for months because of the sensitivity.
Officials had previously identified 450,000 hectares that could be opened up to mining. Gerry Brownlee sent them back to pinpoint the areas - to make it politically viable. Now it's 7,058ha. And it's still unlikely to be that popular.
Sure, some communities will welcome it. Some on the Coromandel perhaps, and a few more will like it on the West Coast. But lets be honest, the West Coast isn't in love with Labour anymore.
But it's certainly enough to get the greenies motivated to march in outrage.
And they are. And it's not just the greenies and the environmental movement that are upset.
National MP for Auckland Central Nikki Kaye says mining must not go ahead in her backyard - in her electorate.
It's a classic NIMBY approach - 'not in my backyard!" Kaye has no such concerns about the Coromandel or Paparoa National Park in the South Island. She's merely looking at how she's affected in her electorate.
And Kaye has to speak out. Her electoral survival depends on what happens on Great Barrier Island. If the miners turn up with shovels, then Kaye might as well grab one and dig her own grave.
But her decision to speak out is not as brave as it sounds. She approached John Key last night and got it approved. He's happy for her to make some noise. And noise is all it will be.
None of the changes the Government is proposing have to be taken to Parliament for a vote, so Kaye won't have to cross the floor.
Auckland Mayor John Banks is equally upset. Talk about electioneering. I never heard Banks talk about mining when he was at Parliament.
So National is now in a popularity contest with the public.
It says its proposals are just that. But that's crap. At the very least National wants to mine those areas in the Coromandel, on Great Barrier and in the Paparoa National Park.
It says $18 billion dollars is at stake on the Coromandel. It says $4.3 billion dollars of gold and silver lies under the hills on Great Barrier. Billions of dollars of top grade coal is in Paparoa - climate change anyone?
I suspect the Government will only get cold feet when the first polls come out and if they show the public is overwhelmingly against the proposals.
Until then the Government says it's consulting. That gives Key an out to pull the plug and blame Gerry Brownlee as being over-excited. But that would be a serious backdown from the Government. Key wants this to go ahead. He believes the core National party voter wants this sort of mining and this is who the policy is directed at.
My view is that National actually seriously believes in mining and wants to dig this stuff up and make money. And when that's dug up they want to look at other areas in the Coromandel, Northland and Stewart Island.
Labour is horrified and predictably so. But as of September 2009, 82 mines were already operating on conservation land.
Labour approved 74 new mining permits on conservation land between 2000 and 2008.
Minister at the time Chris Carter approved the Pike River mine in 2008 and said; "this mine does represent an intrusion into an area of high conservation values." But he approved it anyway because of the jobs and economic benefit.
So the dust is settling on a what truly is a hugely risky policy - and John Key is seriously using up his political capital on this one.
But he's ambitious for New Zealand remember. Let’s just see how ambitious he really is.
Something tells me, voters will say no thanks - and they won't forget in a hurry that National tried to bring in the diggers.
Watch 3 News video on today's developments in the mining debate.