NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Government talks 'sweetener' for new miner, says Forest & Bird

By Lee Scanlon
NZ Herald·
2 May, 2017 03:47 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Kevin Hague of Forest & Bird says the group suspects the Government plans to open access to other coal on the plateau to sweeten the deal for the new buyer. Photo/File

Kevin Hague of Forest & Bird says the group suspects the Government plans to open access to other coal on the plateau to sweeten the deal for the new buyer. Photo/File

Secret government talks on opening more Buller coalfields to coal mining may be a "sweetener" to Stockton Mine's new buyer, says Forest & Bird.

"Our assumption ... is this may be a bit of a sweetener for Phoenix Coal [now BT Mining]," said Forest & Bird chief executive Kevin Hague.

BT Mining comprises Bathurst Resources and Talley's Group.

Hague said Solid Energy had mined all the high value coal at Stockton. Forest & Bird suspected the Government planned to open access to other coal on the plateau to sweeten the deal for the new buyer.

The public had known nothing of the secret cabinet talks, he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Two "biodiversity hot spots" were being considered, Whareatea West, which had the highest value ecosystem on the Denniston Plateau, and Deep Creek above Waimangaroa.

Opencast mining was proposed at Whareatea and underground mining at Deep Creek.

A haul road was proposed to take coal from the Denniston Plateau to Stockton for coal processing.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Government talks were well advanced and it was unclear when the public would be involved.

The Government was promising money and jobs. The same promises were made for Bathurst's Escarpment Mine at Denniston, Hague said.

Escarpment went into care and maintenance last year because the international coking coal price collapsed and the mine had no New Zealand customer.

The West Coast Regional Growth Study, released last year, proposes allowing mining in specific areas of the Buller Coalfield, subject to environmental conditions.

Hague said he wouldn't support that, because too many ecosystems had already been lost.

"I get there's jobs at stake and the rest of it. But as I've said, look at Escarpment, where pretty much all the damage has been done but none or the benefits delivered...

"Stockton, for a while, delivered high value jobs but for the most part it's a really short-term phenomenon."

Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges said the proposals were an "ongoing matter that ministers continue to discuss".

"It is a difficult issue as Buller Plateau has significant economic value but we also understand the need to balance that with the conservation issues."

Hague said those comments were "kind of laughable".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The point of balance was passed a long time ago, arguably a century ago, in terms of how much we could afford to lose."

Eco-systems on coal measure geology were unique, he said.

But Buller Mayor Garry Howard said there was nothing "secret" about the proposal to set environmental conditions on coal mining so miners knew where they stood.

Nor was there any secret mining plan - the Government wanted to set a high bar for environmental standards to allow for coal mining, he said.

"This establishes certainty for companies looking to mine and could save many millions of dollars companies and environmentalists currently spend going through the RMA (Resource Management Act) process where the outcome is unknown.

"New Zealand has an opportunity to have responsible mining with set conditions as opposed to many countries with few environmental controls."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Howard said the proposals went back to 2013. They were spurred by Bathurst's struggle to gain consent for Escarpment Mine.

The company took several years and reportedly spent $15 million on the process.

Howard said his council had subsequently suggested setting environmental conditions for mining in certain areas. Something had to change for coal mining in Buller to have a future.

"Companies were not going to repeat the process of Bathurst."

Hague was negating international conservation efforts, by opposing coal mining under good environmental conditions, he said.

"On an international basis, are you not better to say we can do it and do it well, rather than have it happen in a country that's got no environmental conditions?"

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Coal was being portrayed as something New Zealand didn't like or need, Howard said.

"The reality is, coal is a required commodity in the world in the current market today."

Coal was required for steel making and many other products, such as activated carbon.

Hague said coal use was declining as the proportion of recycled steel increased and new steel production technology became available.

"Our concern is around the protection of this particular [Buller coalfield] co-system, as well as New Zealand's responsibilities around climate change... We do care what happens overseas as well."

- Westport News

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New ZealandUpdated

Emergency services scramble as vehicle goes off cliff in Auckland

05 Jul 01:39 AM
New Zealand

‘I've done wrong:’ How jailed sex offender tried to fool drug test with chamomile tea

05 Jul 12:00 AM
Premium
Business|companiesUpdated

From Silicon Valley to NZ: Kiwi inventor of Facebook Marketplace is back home to give back

05 Jul 12:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'I will f****n' smash you': Kāinga Ora tenant evicted after threats, knife incident

'I will f****n' smash you': Kāinga Ora tenant evicted after threats, knife incident

05 Jul 02:00 AM

The tribunal found her actions frightened and distressed other tenants and employees.

Emergency services scramble as vehicle goes off cliff in Auckland

Emergency services scramble as vehicle goes off cliff in Auckland

05 Jul 01:39 AM
‘I've done wrong:’ How jailed sex offender tried to fool drug test with chamomile tea

‘I've done wrong:’ How jailed sex offender tried to fool drug test with chamomile tea

05 Jul 12:00 AM
Premium
From Silicon Valley to NZ: Kiwi inventor of Facebook Marketplace is back home to give back

From Silicon Valley to NZ: Kiwi inventor of Facebook Marketplace is back home to give back

05 Jul 12:00 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP