Mining in Northland could stem exodus to Oz

Mining is Northland's best hope of creating jobs and stemming the exodus toAustralia, Far NorthMayor Wayne Brownsays.

Mr Brown and Whangarei MP Phil Heatley, the Ministerof Energy and Resources,launched the findings of last year's $2million Northland aeromagnetic survey at a function atthe Copthorne Hotelin Waitangi yesterday.

But those who expected maps with`X marks the spot' ordetails of what minerals lie buried where would have been disappointed.

Experts will still need to trawl through andanalyse the trove of data released yesterday on DVD and on-line, and even then it will only reveal which areas are likely to yield minerals. Rock and soil samples will be needed to confirm the survey's findings.

The launch wasgreeted by a vocalgroup of about 50protesters who hadcome from as faraway as Kaitaia andWhangarei to maketheir concerns aboutenvironmental damage heard.

Twenty police werebrought in fromaround the Far Northbut made no arrests.

Mr Brown, who chairs the Northland Minerals Group and wasthe driving force behind the survey, said what lay behind it was ``jobs, jobs,jobs''.

Mining could provide an antidote to Northland's number one drug _ welfare_ and help keep Maori people and culture in the Far North.

Already400,000 Kiwis, including 125,000 Maori, lived in Australia and that exodus was onlylikely to accelerate with tax-free thresholds about to increase across theTasman.

As of March 6500 Northlanders wereunemployed and the region's median income at the last Census was $19,200,well below the national average.

A 2007 GNS report said Northland's mineral production of $58 million a year could be increased to $354 million, and put the region's total gold deposits at more than $1.5 billion.

New Zealand's highest paid jobs were now in Buller, not Wellington, and that was thanks to mining, Mr Brown said.

Mr Heatley said the data was a ``huge asset'' and gave Northland an edge over other regions,none of which had such comprehensive data.

Although mining had commanded much of the attention it would be useful for determining soil types for farming,horticulture and viticulture, identifying unstablel and, planning roadsand buildings, and finding aquifers andg eothermal energy sources.

It was a sad fact that many Northlanders were waving goodbye to family members moving to Australia to work in the resources industry.

``It's madness. We could do it here,'' Mr Heatley said.

Taranaki, which had a $2 billion a year oiland gas industry,had shown that mining could existside-by-side with tourism and dairying.

Green MP andmining spokesperson Catherine Delahunty, however,was unconvinced,saying tax payers had spent $2 million giving mining companies a ``free pass''.

The exodus to Australia had to bestopped but the bestway of doing tha twas by focussing on what Northland did best, which was horticulture, farming,aquaculture and organics.

``That will last through good timesand bad. Mining is boom and bust,'' she said.

About 100 people representing iwi, petroleum andmining industries,GNS science and councils attended the launch.

After marching from Paihia's Village Green the protest group was corralled opposite the Copthorne where they chanted and held placards with slogans such as``Mining Shafts Us''and ``Green not Brown''.

Spokesman Dean Baigent-Mercer said he was pleased with the turnout, given it was a workday, and the wide range of people, Maori and Pakeha, taking part.

Kerikeri police Senior Sergeant Peter Robinson said feelings were strong in the protest but no arrests were made. At one stage part ofthe group had marched around the foreshore to farside of the Copthorne Hotel, but remained on public land where they were entitled to be.

``By and large it was a peaceful congregation of people expressing their views,''he said.