Editorial: Mining minefield

OPINION: Media hysteria, Mr Key? Really? Any hysteria is much more likely to be around the Cabinet table, as ministers struggle to find a narrow path through a political minefield: making mining in national parks seem palatable.

The best way for the Prime Minister to dampen any excitement would be to hurry up and issue a draft discussion document on the issue.

The Government has already twice postponed the release of the review – leading to reasonable speculation that it is being hurriedly watered down. Meanwhile, after initially attempting to discredit Forest and Bird leaks revealing possible proposals for mining sensitive parts of the conservation estate, the Government has scored an own goal by ordering the State Services Commission to uncover how the greenies got the information. Why take such heavy-handed action if the leaked material was false?

The mining industry is keen to access some sensitive areas that it is banned from under Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act. These include the Coromandel, where there are significant gold deposits, and Kahurangi National Park, where a range of valuable minerals lie, currently undisturbed, amid "wonderfully diverse natural and recreational values", as the Department of Conservation describes it.

Industry body Straterra chief executive Richard Michael laid out the miners' perspective in an opinion piece for The Nelson Mail last month. He argued that Kahurangi is one of the most mineral-rich areas in New Zealand, opening up some areas to mining would have a significant impact on the economy, mining and conservation are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and the debate should centre on finding common ground rather than being hijacked by emotive and knee-jerk responses.

Pragmatism and logic are important elements in any debate. However, emotion and sentiment generally fuel substantial and compelling counters. Our national parks are something that most New Zealanders do – or should – get emotional about. Yes, as tourism drawcards they are important contributors to GDP. But their prime value is something far stronger, if less tangible. Our conservation estate is a key and core feature of New Zealand, an intrinsic legacy to be preserved, maintained and built on for generations to follow. The pragmatism and logic of that stance will become ever more evident as the world population grows.

It is worth recalling the words of then National conservation minister Nick Smith in November 1997. Speaking in Parliament during the third reading of the bill creating Schedule 4, he said it at long last put "some pegs in the sand in some very significant areas of New Zealand, and says to the mining industries of New Zealand: these are no-go areas". The bill, he added, set out significant areas of conservation estate – not just parks – where mining would be prohibited: "something this House should welcome".

His view contrasts markedly with that of energy and resources minister Gerry Brownlee, who on Friday would not rule out open-pit mining in high-value areas. The recession has been a convenient political lever. Not only politicians and environmentalists, however, will be asking what has changed to justify the push to rip out these pegs in the sand.

- © Fairfax NZ News