The Govt has ignited a new storm with hints it will push forward NZ’s game of catch up with Aust in the economic stakes by opening parts of the Conservation Estate to mineral exploration. Aust’s ability to withstand the current recession has been down in large part to the Asian driven resources boom, which, apart from exports of oil, NZ has had little part in.

There is nothing wrong with NZ attempting to exploit its wealth in areas many of its citizens will never see, let alone care about. But once again the country looks set to be held to ransom by media savvy minorities who capture the agenda without taking note of the economic consequences. The simple message to these Nimbys is – hundreds of thousands of hectares of windswept tussock won’t lift our living standards – the minerals buried beneath it will.

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What Gerry Brownlee proposes as far as mining on conservation land goes can be summed up in three sentences: “We are going to be far more pragmatic and supportive than the previous administration towards exploration and mining activity. Of course we must be cognisant of our responsibility to the environment. But mining and the environment can co-exist together.” He raised access to DoC land as an issue earlier in the year, but what sets his latest comments apart is the detailed discussion of Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act, administered by DoC, and his proposals for:

• A formal public consultation to consider taking certain, highly prospective areas out of Schedule 4;

• Universally applied rules, fees and timetables for access to DoC lands to end uncertainty for would-be miners caused by different application of the rules in different conservancies; and

• Crown Minerals be notified of proposed reclassification of DoC administered land prior to public notification, rather than after, as at present.

Brownlee and Environment Minister Nick Smith have asked officials to develop options to improve processes around DoC consultation with Crown Minerals on conservation land reclassification.

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