National Park mining? Opawa very doubtful

The Government wants to open up high value conservation land to the possibility of being mined. This includes parts of our South Island's Paparoa National Park. With a recent trip to this beautiful part of New Zealand fresh in my mind, I joined a group of volunteers to find out what the people of Opawa thought of the idea.

Everybody we met seemed well aware of the Government's mining plans and were quick to share their concerns. When asked what they would say to the Government on this issue, people were quick to take the chance.

Many people were strongly dismissive of the whole idea. Ken said, "I won't be voting for them. National Parks are sacred, and are not a line to step over. You don't knock the tops off mountains. The environment is a big asset." Thinking about the tourism value of these areas, and comparing it the mineral resource value, "the economics don't stack up."

This concern was felt by Merv too who said, "Our National Parks are ours. They are supposed to be preserved forever, it's the reason we have National Parks. I think it's disgusting. We need to fight it in Parliament and get the message out to everyone. Publicise the downsides. Once are greenspaces are gone they are gone."

The idea of ownership, and the reasons why we have these places was mentioned by others, who noted that when the land was gifted, it was not done with a view of future mining. Steph felt, "We should have a say and poll New Zealanders."

Even those who supported some mining had mixed views about the whole idea. "I question how much damage they will do. I'm not against it, but sensitivity is needed in a National Park." Bill said this, "I have no problem with it, as long as they take due diligence and there's not too much damage. I'm not keen on huge damage like Waihi."

For supporters, the question of where the money would go was a concern. "If we don't take the minerals out of the ground we can't catch up with Aussie. Depends if we want to get ahead or go backwards. There's no point in mining if all the money goes offshore, a percentage should stay here. Locally produced should have a percentage for locals at cheaper cost than in the exported country."

More mining in National Parks was an issue that everybody we spoke to in Opawa had an opinion on. It would be great if the Government could listen too.