Conservationists face fight to stop mining
Conservationists say they have a big and difficult fight on their hands to protect the North-West Conservation Park from mining. The multi-national mining company, C.R.A. Exploration, Ltd, has announced that it will go ahead with its application to prospect for gold in the Cobb Valley-Mount Arthur Tablelands area of the park. It had earlier said it would review its plans because of protest concerned with the environmental and recreational importance of the area.
the director of the Native Forests Action Council, Mr Guy Salmon, said he was not surprised by C.R.A.’s decision, as the company had a reputation overseas as a single-minded and determined organisation that
was accustomed to bulldozing aside any opposition. Mr Salmon said he had just returned from a visit to Australia where he had learned quite a lot about C.R.A.
"They have been closely associated with a successful mining industry campaign to open up national parks to mining; they are now proposing to open a uranium mine in a national park in West Australia,” he said. “Along with some other mining companies, they have successfully opposed the granting of any land rights to Aboriginals. “The mining industry’s television campaign depicted black hands building walls across Australia, and played on the fears which many Australians have about people of other races.
“There is an element of ruthlessness in much of the activity that C.R.A. has been associated with. They are bringing something rather new to the New Zealand scene.” Mr Salmon said that because existing laws provided no real protection for conservation parks against mining, the main hope for protecting, the area lay in changing the law.
This in turn would greatly depend on the success of the Wharepapa petition — calling for reform of mining laws — which is being circulated nationally by N.F.A.C.
Mr Salmon said he was heartened by the strong support for protecting the conservation park which had come from the member of Parliament for Tasman, Mr Ken Shirley.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19871226.2.86
Bibliographic details
Press, 26 December 1987, Page 14
Word Count
330Conservationists face fight to stop mining Press, 26 December 1987, Page 14
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Copyright in all Footrot Flats cartoons is owned by Diogenes Designs Ltd. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise these cartoons and make them available online as part of this digitised version of the Press. You can search, browse, and print Footrot Flats cartoons for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Diogenes Designs Ltd for any other use.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.