Greenstone mining ban sought

Press, 3 December 1987, Page 1

Greenstone mining ban sought

By

JANE ENGLAND

and JANE DUNBAR

A ban prohibiting the mining or selling of pounamu (greenstone) except for Maori noncommercial use is contained in the Ngai Tahu land claim on the West Coast.

The call for the ban was presented to the Waitangi Tribunal yesterday in evidence prepared by an employee of the Conservation Department, and deputy chairman of the management committee of the Mawhera Incorporation, Mr Andrew Maika Mason. The tribunal had earlier heard a submission that all minerals, including petroleum, in Ngai Tahu land or waters should be retained for the tribe. Mr Mason said that the stone must be vested under the custodianship of the Kati Waewae (sub-tribe of the Ngai Tahu) if it was to be conserved. “In this age of conservation it is a finite resource.” The ban would halt the "offensive commercial exploitation” of the stone and preserve its traditional value for the whole of Maoridom, he said. In 1981, the Mawhera Incorporation unsuccessfully opposed a mining application by Westland Greenstone, Ltd. The company manufactured greenstone jewellery, 75 per cent of which was sold to tourists, and produced an annual turnover of more than $BOO,OOO. Mr Mason said that the finding In favour of the company revealed the “inadequacies and insensitivities” of the Mining Act towards Maori values. Government departments had been instructed to act in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi but they had not taken any meaningful steps to enforce the provisions of the Mining Act, he said.

During the purchase of the Arahura land block, Ngai Tahu had been assured of their right to the Arahura River and beds which contain the stone. But the Crown did not allow the tribe its full right or enable It to exercise its control over pounamu in the section of the river finally allocated in 1976. Although mining licences were required by those taking the stone, very few were issued. "At the moment, pounamu is being taken from all over Westland. The people can pick it out of the rivers and take it off the land.” Mr Mason said the tribunal represented the tribe’s last chance to preserve the stone as a national and cultural heritage. "Should the, tribunal decide that the pounamu must be protected, then I believe it should be used only for traditional uses, in the same way totara is now preserved in the North Island.” Statutory provisions must be made to control the stone for the benefit of all Maoris, he said. Mr Paul Bowden, a greenstone manufacturer, said he would support the locking up of greenstone if a total assurance could be given that no-one would sell it commercially. “That just wouldn’t happen, however,” he said. “Artefacts would be made, and someone would flog them off at the other end.” "Ed like to know if there was any Maori enterprise where greenstone artefacts'’are being made for their own people and

not sold,” he said. “It would be a nice thought, but I don’t believe in fairy tales.” A public relations officer for the Buller Promotion Association, Mrs Lynne Oldham, said the association understood the concern of the Ngai Tahu people. For the long-term benefit of the West Coast tourist industry, however, the association hoped a compromise could be reached. The director of Westland Greenstone, Ltd, Mr Bernie Radomski, said he did not believe he could be stopped from selling greenstone. “If they stop us from manufacturing, they stop the whole souvenir industry in New Zealand,” In Christchurch, two local carvers said a more important issue was the importing of substitute jade. “Maoris should be trying to protect New Zealand’s nephrite from cheap imitation stuff from Taiwan,” said Mr John McKenzie. “It amazes me they allow it to happen.” The Import of jade which was passed off as a New Zealand product was the biggest scandal, said Mr Alfred Moreton of Christchurch Greenstone Products. Maoris probably did have a reason to gripe, however, as greenstone was a limited resource and should be protected in some way. This could be done through the Issuing of mining licences, he said. Further reports, page 3