Mining our National Parks

[A Public Meeting is to be held on Mon­day 1 Feb 2010, 7.30pm, at the Church Of the Ascen­sion, 39 Major Horn­brook Road, Mount Pleas­ant, Christchurch. The Speaker will be Chris Todd and he's going to talk on Mining Conservation Land. Come along and find out what's happening.]

We all know and love those iconic New Zealand landscapes. Problem is they will only be there for our children if we protect them. The latest threat is from National's Minister of Energy and Resources, Gerry Brownlee, and the mining industry.

The most precious parts of our conservation estate, about one third, is currently off limits to mining. These include National Parks, marine reserves and protected offshore islands. Now Brownlee wants to do a 'stocktake' of what minerals are under the land and water in these areas.

It's only a look at this stage, but nobody would spend the money to do this if there wasn't a prospect of getting a return. That's why the minerals industries are so pleased and those who care about our conservation estate are so concerned.

Mining means roads, acidic runoff into surrounding streams, bleak moonscapes, noise, dust, with the impact being felt by flaura and fauna and people alike. All this at a time when we should be reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.

Supporters of this proposal, such as Brownlee, are likely to mention the jobs created by mining. It's important to remember though that tourism injects over $1 billion annually into our economy, and it's a sector that is likely to take a dim view of the damage a mining landgrab could do to our precious natural heritage.