No government has the right to deprive our children of our most treasured places and native species.

Keep our heritage in Schedule 4!

• Send an e-card to the Prime Minister
  
• Download our petition
  
• Watch Metiria's call to action video

 Our National parks, Wildlife sanctuaries, Marine reserves, Protected islands, and the Coromandel’s beautiful land and waters belong to us, to our children and to our grandchildren.

Yet the John Key-led government has called for the most precious and significant land in New Zealand’s public conservation estate to be laid bare for mining.

These most treasured places, sacred to tangata whenua and loved by all New Zealanders must not be destroyed. They are the heritage that thousands of New Zealanders have invested countless volunteer hours and dollars into protecting.

This heritage must be respected not destroyed for short term profit.

These national treasures generate billions of dollars to the New Zealand economy in tourism, freshwater and floodwater protection precisely because they are protected from development under Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act.

We need your help

Add your voice to the petition calling for greater protection for our most precious conservation lands:

• Download our petition - ask your friends and family to sign it, and send it back to us.
• Send an e-card to the Prime Minister

For more information on our campaign email conservation [at] greens [dot] org [dot] nz.

Mining on Conservation Land – FAQs

Isn’t it already legal to mine on conservation land?
In some cases, yes. Mineral companies can currently apply for a minerals permit and access to conservation land, apart from the high-conservation value lands listed in Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act. About one-third of the conservation estate is in Schedule 4.

So what are the bits of land in Schedule 4?
These are our most precious conservation lands and waters – National Parks, marine reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and protected offshore islands. They are currently protected from mining. See here to read Schedule 4, and here to read a list of about 400 conservation places covered by Schedule 4.

So what is the Government proposing?
Minister of Energy and Resources Gerry Brownlee announced in this speech that the Government wants to do a ‘stocktake’ of the mineral wealth lying under Schedule 4 lands and waters, with a view to removing some sites from Schedule 4 and opening them up to mining. They also want to improve access to other conservation areas and ensure that the Minister of Resources is consulted on any reclassification of DOC lands.

But they’re just taking a look aren’t they? What’s the big deal?
The Government wouldn’t invest resources into reviewing the mineral wealth of these lands if it didn’t intend to exploit those minerals. As the Waikato Times editorial said – a stock take is preparation for taking stock. The minerals industry is over-joyed at these announcements because they can see what is lying ahead – improved and increased access into lands that have previously been off-limits, and big profits for them as a result.

Yeah, but modern mining techniques are better these days aren’t they?
The Minister cites Newmont’s Martha gold mine in Waihi and Solid Energy’s Stockton coal mine on the West Coast as examples of environmentally-sensitive modern mining. Martha is a massive open cast pit just outside Waihi township, and the people of Waihi live with blasting noise and dust, subsidence and tailings dams full of heavy metals. Environmental groups have highlighted Solid Energy’s atrocious environmental record at Stockton, where mining has left a bleak moonscape [see photo gallery] and local rivers and streams are polluted with acid mine drainage. Rare native land snails were removed to allow an entire mountain to be demolished [see photo gallery] and they are not doing well in their translocated home. Even underground mining of conservation land will carve roads through forests; create processing plants, blasting effects, and noise; and risk subsidence of land, all of which will deter visitors. Most mining will require open-cast mining which destroys the land surface and has a massive effect on the environment.

Why are we mining for coal anyway – I thought climate change was a problem?
Good point. Before the election the National Environment Spokesperson Nick Smith said "The burning of coal is the dirtiest form of energy and the single largest global source of greenhouse gases." Now the Government wants to find more. Here's a map of where NZ's coal deposits are. Digging new coal mines is grossly irresponsible when we should be trying to reduce our climate emissions. It also doesn’t make any difference to the atmosphere if our coal is burnt here or exported elsewhere – it’s still the most dirty polluting fossil fuel.

Don’t we need more economic development like this to create jobs?
From 2004-2007, the public conservation estate returned some $22.5 billion to the economy. That return comes in many forms including flood protection, water services, tourism, and marine conservation. It is also estimated that our clean green image is worth well over $1 billion annually to our tourism and export sectors, and news of the NZ government opening up national parks to mining will undoubtedly do damage to that brand.

So what next?
The Government needs to hear that New Zealanders will not stand for our most precious conservation lands being opened up for mining. So get involved – send an e-card, download and print our petition and pass it round your networks. Once the Government has completed their review, they are obliged to consult with the public before they remove any lands from Schedule 4 (thanks to a Green Party Amendment to the Crown Minerals Act!) so join our mailing list to keep up to date with any developments.

More information: Forest and Bird answers more questions here

'Environmentally Friendly Mining': The reality

Minister of Energy and Resources Gerry Brownlee has cited Newmont’s Martha gold mine in Waihi and Solid Energy’s Stockton coal mine on the West Coast as examples of environmentally sensitive modern mining. OceanaGold's mine in Victoria Conservation Park, near Reefton, is a modern mine on conservation land. So what do these places actually look like?

Martha mine, Waihi

Martha mine

Truck dwarfed by Martha mine

Solid Energy's Stockton mine

Solid Energy's Stockton mine

The former Mt Augustus, Stockton plateau

Trucks working on Mt Augustus

The former Mt Frederick, Stockton plateau

The former Mt Augustus, Stockton plateau

Oceana gold mine in Victoria Conservation Park near Reefton

Tailings Dam at Oceana gold mine

Oceana gold mine tailings dam, in Victoria Conservation Park near Reefton (Credit: Forest and Bird)

Tailings outfall pipe at Oceana gold mine - (Credit: Forest and Bird)

Oceana gold mine sludge dam (Credit: Forest and Bird)