Mining lobby ‘admits defeat’ on veto

Press, 28 May 1988, Page 5

Mining lobby ‘admits defeat’ on veto

A new environmental group, the Maruia Society, says it welcomes “an admission of defeat” by the mining industry lobby. The Mining and Exploration Association had been campaigning for six months to strip the Minister of Conservation, Ms Clark, of her power to veto mining projects on Conservation Department’s land, said the society’s director, Mr Guy Salmon.

The association’s president, Mr Richard Tweedie, had now conceded the need for Ministerial consent for mining, while still insisting no consent should be required for prospecting, he said.

“It appears the mining industry has now realised there is no political support for its campaign to radically trim the Minister’s powers.

“It is nonsense, however, to suggest the Ministerial control over mining prospecting is not needed.”

Recent applications for prospecting had involved road-building, use of explosives, heavy earthmoving and forest clearance, and such activities obviously needed to be controlled on conservation land, said Mr Salmon. He also strongly disagreed with Mr Tweedie’s suggestion that Ministerial consents for mining should be jointly issued by the Ministers of Conservation and Energy.

“The Minister of Energy has a statutory obligation to promote and foster the mining industry. “It is quite inappropriate for such a person to have a direct involvement in management decisions in national parks and other protected areas,” said Mr Salmon.