Around 100 protestors from Coromandel Watchdog and Forest and Bird were onsite at Oceana Gold’s Baxter Rd entrance this morning in Waihī, ahead of a planned visit to the mines by Resources Minister Shane Jones.
The Minister was in Waihī to unveil the Government’s national mineral strategy, which contains a roadmap outlining the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s plan for the country’s mining industry as far ahead as 2040. Also released was a list of 37 critical minerals deemed essential to New Zealand’s economy and technological needs.
Key takeaways of the announcement included: a goal to double New Zealand’s mining export profit to $3 billion by 2035; a vision of a productive, innovative, responsible and resilient mining industry which reduces the country’s reliance on imported minerals; better public awareness of the mining industry; and more foreign investment.
The strategy also outlined the Government’s intentions to continue to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and protect the environment within mining operations, but Minister Jones made it clear he thought environmental “wokeness” had gone too far, and indicated he would be focusing on industry and economy as his clear priorities.
The Minister called the strategy a “considered, enduring approach to minerals development” and said it would still support responsible, sustainable practices within the industry.
The announcement, which was scheduled for 10am, was delayed due to the protestors, whom officials seemed unprepared for. They blocked the Baxter Rd entrance to the property – brandishing signs, chanting slogans, and calling for the Minister to front up.
Buses containing invited dignitaries and media were forced to turn around at the gate, instead travelling through Waihī and entering the mining facility through another entrance.
The delays did not derail the Minister’s announcement, and he addressed mining staff and the invited guests a short while later at a warehouse within the premises.
Watchdog chair Catherine Delahunty said in a media release that the new strategy represented the anti-mining agency’s worst fears about the Government’s approach to mining, and called it a “failure of leadership”. She said the strategy, along with the Fast-Track legislation, would lead to greater environmental risks and less public scrutiny.
See The Valley Profile’s February 4 edition for more on the announcement.
