Mining: Govt Rattled On Mining
May 18th, 2010
There’s been a distinct change of mood in the Beehive on the mining issue, with senior Ministers’ aides openly discussing the likelihood proposals to mine any conservation land will be abandoned. While Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee continues to defend the position, the inherent conservatism of the John Key Cabinet suggests there is a high chance the proposals will die on the vine. Brownlee reckons “people are quite sensible about this” and are not persuaded “by the hysteria that says we’re going to knock the top off Mitre Peak or whatever.” But this was before the big march down Queen St which, as much as anything, has given political commentators the thing they’ve lacked till now: a tangible wedge issue for an apparently untouchable Govt.
But even if the DoC mining proposals stall, it won’t be the last hurrah for Brownlee. He has documents coming for release in the next couple of months relating to areas of mineral prospectivity outside conservation lands, which the Govt may also seek to explore. The puzzling thing about this is the timing. If there are viable areas outside the conservation estate for mining exploration, why weren’t they bundled into earlier announcements, or placed on the public agenda before the DoC proposals even saw the light of day?
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