John Key has announced a kind of “devil’s pact” approach to mining on Dept of Conservation land by proposing a portion of the royalties from such activity should be diverted to a fund for special conservation projects. Described by Greens co-leader Russel Norman as “Orwellian” because it seemed to imply the environment could only be saved by first destroying it, the idea shows every sign of having neutralised such public opposition as exists for the exploratory phase of the Brownlee plan.

In a remarkably measured response, the Environmental Defence Society’s Gary Taylor says EDS “does not oppose mining on all Crown owned conservation land. It’s a question of limiting mining to lower value areas for nature conservation and continuing to protect higher value areas.” Willingness to expand so-called “Section 4″ protection to new areas of high ecological value, and the creation of a royalties-based fund were both cautiously welcomed, as long as the new fund didn’t lead to funding cuts elsewhere at DoC. Signs the Brownlee plan continues to capture the public imagination is perhaps most potently demonstrated by the fact the PM’s favourability ratings remain at all-time highs, in polling undertaken after Key’s agenda-setting speech to Parliament last week.

Whether the intervention of the heavyweight US environmental protection society, the Sierra Club, has political impact remains to be seen. However, it is just as likely the perception of wealthy Americans telling NZers what’s good for them will be seen as a negative rather than a positive. While the disclosure of Key’s minor ownership interest in uranium mining gave TV news something to run with at the weekend, Key’s explanation of the way the holding came about was credible and uncontroversial. As a taunt for the Opposition, it looks to have a pretty short half-life.

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