Toxic mining is the curse

Maori and conservation interests have voiced opposition to what they describe as government attempts to undermine genuine local concerns over threats of toxic mining.

"We are not opposed to all mining. It's the type of mining for gold and silver that will curse us all with huge volumes of toxic waste for generations to come that we can't and won't live with," Te Wakameninga o nga hapu Ngapuhi spokesman Bryce Smith said last week.

"The Government is trying to sneak mining in Northland through different doors. They are using both the Iwi Chairs' Forum and resource management units within iwi authorities to feed into the Ministry of Economic Development.

"The Government will use any contact on these issues to say they have consulted, even if resource management units give them an out and out 'No' to toxic mining.

"Hapu have gone away and educated themselves on managing their environmental matters, so any 'iwi leaders' consenting to toxic mining will not be tolerated.

"Culturally we have the obligation to care for water. Gold and silver mining needs to use massive amounts of water then it ends up contaminated with toxic waste. Who wants to be kaitiaki of toxic water for many generations?

"While heavy metals like mercury, arsenic and cadmium are locked up in rock they are safe. That's where they should stay," he added.

"Tangata whenua are recognised as consenting authorities, and the community does not get the privilege of consultation. So if toxic mining gets the go-ahead it will be because some Maori said yes."

Dean Baigent-Mercer, chairman of the Far North branch of Forest and Bird, said he wrote to Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley in April, stating that his organisation understood why consultation was under way with hapu and councils over mining, but asking why the rest of the population was excluded.

"After all, there are groups and people with lots of local, scientific, economic and historical information that would be important to robust decision-making," he said.

Mr Heatley had replied that the MED had consulted iwi and hapu in the proposed area, while, to better reflect community views, local authorities had also been consulted. That consultation would inform final decisions on the area to be offered as part of Northland 2012 competitive tender for metallic minerals.

Mr Baigent-Mercer rejected that as a valid process.

"The local authorities are completely biased to the point they've used public money for the Northland aerial mineral survey and sent Mayor Wayne Brown on a junket to Canada to promote the mining of Northland," he said.

"Local authorities appear too compromised to be capable of assessing threats of toxic mining to the environment, the economy or the people who live here.

"Phil Heatley's letter confirms the Government's contempt for the public by locking us out. You can be sure this isn't happening to mining companies."

Mr Heatley had also said recently that he was trying to find ways to weaken more laws to make it even easier for multinational mining companies, Mr Baigent-Mercer added.