Mining resources could grow economy - Business NZ

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The Government is proposing to open up more than 7000 hectares of conservation land for mining on Coromandel, and Paparoa National Park on the West Coast.

Other areas, including parts of Northland and Rakiura National Park on Stewart Island will be prospected over the next nine months.

Prime Minister John Key said taking advantage of the country's minerals would mean greater prosperity for all New Zealanders.

Business NZ chief Phill O'Reilly told the National Business Review the resources belonged to all New Zealanders and could be used to nurture new industries and to grow the economy.

"In taking stock of resources below the conservation estate the Government is acting judiciously on behalf of all New Zealanders," he said.

The Petroleum Exploration and Production Association supported Mr Brownlee's call for rational debate over the issue.

"One third of New Zealand is held in the DOC estate and not all of it is comprised of pristine tourist areas, or is even necessarily environmentally sensitive," PEPA NZ executive John Pfahlert told the NBR.

He said it should not be assumed that every piece of DoC land could only be used for conservation or tourism, or that mining "can't co-exist environmentally with those activities."

But Coromandel Watchdog spokesman Denis Tegg has described the Government's proposals as "contemptible".

"The backlash from mainstream New Zealand will be fierce and relentless. A previous National Government put the current Schedule 4 protection in place, after a concerted 30-year campaign by Coromandel Watchdog, visitors and locals. Many are National Party supporters," Mr Tegg said.

He said the Government has "kicked open the door" to the mining industry. He also criticised a $4 million subsidy to the mining industry to help prospect.

"It's social welfare for multinationals. Mining companies are creaming off huge profits. They already receive large income tax concessions not available to ordinary Kiwis. They pay pitifully low royalties. We privatise our minerals by just giving them away to overseas corporations," Mr Tegg said.

He said it was significant that the Government had not ruled out open pit mining.

"Both open pit and underground mining have severe impacts with roads, rock crushing, cyanide treatment and millions of tonnes of toxic waste dumped in fragile high rainfall areas." Mining will industrialise our parks," Mr Tegg said.

"The Otahu and Parakiwai Waiomu and Broken Hill ecological reserves all contain many endangered species, have mature kauri and kahikatea forest, and outstanding geological, natural and recreational values."

Mr Key was asked if today's proposal represented a wish list for mining companies.

"I think a wish list would be much broader than this," Mr Key said.

Energy Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee described the area of conservation land proposed for mining as the size of a post card on Eden Park.

He said it would likely be five years before any new mining on Conservation land took place.

Environmental Defence Society chairman Gary Taylor said Stewart Island, Mt Aspiring and Kahurangi National Park are all firmly in the Government's sights.

He said the report out today makes "depressing reading" but any applications for mining would still come under the Resource Management Act.

"Any mining investor would need to look twice at the risks of not getting consent. Approvals for some of the Coromandel sites have been refused in the past," Mr Taylor said.

He said mining on Great Barrier Island will be difficult, given the remoteness of the island.

"Access would be a real problem and there will be conflicts with existing walking tracks and viewpoints," Mr Taylor said.

He said gold and silver are not "strategic minerals" and it is hard seeing the Environment Court allowing such a mine to go ahead.

"I suspect that Aucklanders will be very upset about this. Great Barrier is the most remote site within the city and is highly valued by island residents and non-residents alike.

"This is the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. Opening up the possibility of allowing mining in the park is a pretty poor birthday present," Mr Taylor said.

He said the report is a discussion paper and hoped that New Zealanders would voice their opinion in their thousands.

Mr Brownlee said mining is an "emotive issue" but said he hoped a debate could now take place and the Government could not ignore the $194 billion worth of minerals on Conservation land.

"We now have the parameters for a constructive discussion about the role mining might play in helping grow the economy and the value of our exports to help improve living standards for New Zealanders," Brownlee said.

"Today the government is suggesting allowing potential access, with appropriate environmental mitigation, to a small percentage of that resource," he said.

He said the 7000 hectares is far less than the numbers quoted by environment lobby groups, such as Forest and Bird.

Forest and Bird said leaked information showed the Government had planned to remove half a million hectares from schedule four but, fearing a public backlash, had trimmed it down to 7000ha.

As a sweetener, Brownlee said a further 12,400 ha would be added to Schedule Four, protecting it from future mining.

He also said a contestable environment fund would be set up that will include 50 per cent of the royalty revenues from minerals excluding oil and will be capped at $10m a year.

Forest & Bird advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell said protecting more land did not make up for opening other areas to mining.

"These areas - which include national park additions, Hauraki Gulf islands and marine reserves - are simply areas that have been waiting for official protection since the last review in 2008.

"They should not be seen as trade-offs for high-value conservation land being removed from Schedule 4 because none of the expected 12,000 hectares has significant mining potential."

The Government last year did a stocktake of minerals in the conservation estate, with the intention of taking parts of it out of the schedule in the Crown Minerals Act that protects it from mining.

Parts of today's discussion paper had been leaked earlier this month.

Environment lobby groups, including Forest and Bird, have said the Government had previously had plans to remove half a million hectares from the schedule four but, fearing a public backlash, had trimmed it down to 7000ha.

Prime Minister John Key has called concerns raised by Forest and Bird as "scaremongering". He has also said there has been too much "hysteria" in the media.

He said last week that it was important to balance economic opportunities and the environmental responsibilities in mining in other areas.

Key said this was not a matter of "absolutes- yes or no to mining," adding that some concessions had already been made in the past.

The Government has put the value of minerals in conservation land at about $140 billion.

State Services Commissioner Ian Rennie has announced that there will be an investigation into how the document was leaked.

Public submissions on the plans close at 5pm on Tuesday, May 4.