[shanec]

Hi,
I haven’t spent much time searching…but I’m interested in some analysis of what is going on with talk regarding mining in National parks.

I’ve seen/heard some radio and TV coverage but that has not been very in depth.

If anyone has links to some analysis worth reading, could you reply to the links here?
( the more factual the better).

Hopefully this won’t generate into a flame war! ( Or I’ll kill the post thread

Cheers,
Shane

[Mike]

Er, did you happen to find any?

[shanec]

Not yet.
I’ll do a little more research and post what I know about any protection (or lack of) provided by legislation on this thread.

In the mean-time I’m sure that there are others who know a little about the subject.

I might need to get fit and plan that trip into the Red Hills/Cascade river with a bit more urgency.

-s

[Henry]

the best website around with great info and resources is http://www.watchdog.org.nz

[Richie]

Hi, the last couple of FMC bulletins have had some excellent articles. More to come:

Mining

[sharron]

The government discussion document on mining in National Parks is due to be released for public consultation in early March.

[shanec]

I found this little bit from http://2precious2mine.org.nz/

The Crown Minerals Act (1991) Act (CMA) allows the Minister of Conservation to permit mining access to conservation land if that is in keeping with the Conservation Act and the purpose the land is protected. In reality, the vast majority of access permits are granted, and 42 mining operations are currently underway on conservation land.

Schedule 4 is a list of our highest value conservation lands that was appended to the CMA in 1997, and is not accessible for mining, other than very low impact prospecting. It includes all of our National Parks, Wilderness Areas, Marine Reserves and Ecological Areas. The list of place types is available here; and the list of places currently protected is here.

It’s not just land, however. Most Marine Reserves and the internal waters of the Coromandel Peninsula are currently the only areas in the marine environment protected from mining by Schedule 4. All other marine areas are open to mining.

In August 2009, the Minister of Energy and Resources, Gerry Brownlee, announced a review of Schedule 4 with the view to removing areas for mining. Their initial advice included mention of the Coromandel peninsula, and Kahurangi, Paparoa, and Fiordland National Parks.

Links:

CMA http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0070/latest/DLM242536.html
Conservation ACT http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0065/latest/DLM103610.html
“Schedule 4” http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1997/0091/latest/DLM417073.html#DLM417073

[sharron]

The government discussion document including maps can be downloaded from the MED website.

http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/StandardSummary____42577.aspx

[Mike]

There was a lengthy report by Ian Telfer on National Radio’s ‘Insight’ this morning which I didn’t hear all of, but it seemed to be covering all the bases. I think it’ll be repeated after the 9pm news tomorrow evening (Monday) or at 12.30am on Wednesday. If you miss that or it’s inconvenient, it can also be streamed from any of these links depending on your format of choice… at least for the next few weeks and possibly beyond:

* Windows Media: http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/national/inst/2010/03/insight,_sunday_28_march_mining_on_conservation_land

* MP3: http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/inst/inst-20100328-0812-Insight,_Sunday_28_March_Mining_on_Conservation_Land-048.mp3

* Ogg Vorbis: http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/inst/inst-20100328-0812-Insight,_Sunday_28_March_Mining_on_Conservation_Land.ogg

[Author]

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