Mining

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The numbers on mining don’t stack up

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, March 24th, 2010 - 38 comments

There’s a hell of a lot of mis-information and confusing numbers about the economic potential of mining around, and that suits Gerry Brownlee and National because it lets them exaggerate the case for opening up the National Parks. Remember, more mining is the government’s one big plan for the economy but they can’t even give a ballpark figure on how much they expect the country to gain.

Mining our national parks for the US war-machine

Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, March 23rd, 2010 - 23 comments

Most of the world’s supply of the key rare earth metals comes from China. That’s a strategic problem for the US, which needs rare earths for high-tech military equipment. They don’t want to be dependent on the world’s other superpower, and potential adversary, for their military hardware. Is it a coincidence that the Nats are so keen to let foreigners mine for rare earths in our national parks?

Nikki Kaye hits out at Key’s mining plan

Written By: - Date published: 6:38 am, March 23rd, 2010 - 29 comments

National Party MP Nikki Kaye is hitting out at her own leader John Key’s plan to mine Great Barrier Island. She joins the growing list of conservative opponents against the plan, with Auckland Mayor John Banks also voicing his opposition. It shows just how toxic this mining plan is.

Key’s mining plan worse than Bush’s

Written By: - Date published: 6:14 am, March 23rd, 2010 - 51 comments

John Key’s mining plan released yesterday is true madness. It sacrifices New Zealand’s natural heritage to make a buck for a few multi-national mining companies. The full list of changes make it clear: Key is mounting an attack on our conservation areas on a scale that even George W Bush couldn’t stomach.

Govt to open National Parks for mining

Written By: - Date published: 3:02 pm, March 22nd, 2010 - 117 comments

John Key’s discussion document is out and is proposing slice more than 7000ha out of our most precious conservation lands. Forest and Bird’s information was right. It includes: Coromandel, Paparoa National Park, Great Barrier Island. With Northland and Stewart Island on the wish-list too!

Hysteria in the government over mining

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, March 20th, 2010 - 3 comments

The Herald has a editorial lambasting John Key about claiming this week that they were ‘hysterical’ writing about the plans to mine the conservation lands, and that there were no such plans. Later in the week, the government launched a probe to find out who leaked cabinet documents about mining the conservation lands. The irony of the two actions appears to have escaped John Key who appears more clueless than ever.

Hysterical media coverage

Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, March 17th, 2010 - 26 comments

Suddenly John Key is all over the place complaining about “hysterical” media coverage of National’s plans to turn large chunks of our National Parks into smouldering slag. John seems to have forgotten what “hysterical” politics really looks like. Let’s take a trip down memory lane…

Nats to pay miners to dig up national parks

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, March 17th, 2010 - 14 comments

During Question Time yesterday, Metiria Turei exposed National’s plan to subsidise mineral exploration by foreign companies in the most important parts of our national parks.

John Key refused to confirm Turei’s information but couldn’t deny it. Clearly, the Nats had been planning to slip it through in the Budget unnoticed.

The scars of Tui Mine

Written By: - Date published: 11:56 pm, March 15th, 2010 - 18 comments

My Granddad grew up in Te Aroha near Tui Mine. The mining ruined a large swathe of the land and toxic tailings were left behind which polluted the river and turned a large patch of bush into a desert – it is a scar on the face of my Granddad’s mountain which looks over his grave. As I write this I can hear him reciting this poem:

National Parks, not National’s parks

Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, March 15th, 2010 - 82 comments

Forest and Bird has obtained information that Prime Minister John Key is looking to mine Paparoa National Park [pictured right], Great Barrier Island, and areas surrounding the Thames township. The final details of the discussion doc will be decided at Cabinet today. Mr Key, you’re in for a fight on this one.

Solid Energy co-opts kids to push coal

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, March 11th, 2010 - 17 comments

Solid Energy has been caught out commissioning future leaders to pen fantasy stories in school hours. The company is inviting high school students in key coal-mining areas to submit an essay on: “The role of coal in sustainable energy solutions for New Zealand”.

On the news value of questioning Ministers’ shares

Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, February 24th, 2010 - 39 comments

A certain National Party pollster is having a cry over the story I ran yesterday on Murray McCully’s shares in Widespread Portfolios.

The story got widespread media coverage because it raised legitimate questions that needed to be answered.

Nature worth more than minerals

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, February 23rd, 2010 - 4 comments

Linley Boniface: “To suggest that the world’s last few remaining areas of wilderness have no intrinsic worth, and should be judged only in terms of their ability to generate business opportunities, is a notion that is both repellent and outdated.”

McCully caught in mining conflict

Written By: - Date published: 6:36 am, February 23rd, 2010 - 94 comments

The Government is driving ahead with its plans to open up our National Parks and other protected environments to mining. The Standard can now reveal that Murray McCully has shares in a company that stands to benefit directly from National’s mining policy.

Oram on the ‘step change’

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 pm, February 21st, 2010 - 25 comments

An excellent piece by Rod Oram in the SST. More sophisticated governments are focusing on smart and sustainable growth but National thinks wealth comes from more milk and selling off our irreplaceable natural resources as quickly as possible.

Brownlee lying over mining on conservation land

Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, February 17th, 2010 - 24 comments

According to The Press Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee is denying he trimmed a South Island conservation park after being lobbied by mining company L&M. However, documents posted on The Standard and No Right Turn show he was lying.

Key’s uranium mining interests

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 16th, 2010 - 57 comments

John Key says Jackson Mining was just a gold mining company when he bought them and that they didn’t get involved in uranium until later. In fact, Jackson mining was already involved in uranium when Key listed his interest in the company last year

Mining fallout begins

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, February 15th, 2010 - 34 comments

We market ourselves internationally as “100% pure New Zealand”. That’s a powerful claim and a powerful brand, but also a fragile one. A bubble that is easily popped. Stupidly, the actions of the National government seem likely to damage the brand, and with it the tourism industry, beyond repair.

Conservation park ‘trimmed’ to suit mining interests

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 15th, 2010 - 40 comments

The Standard has been sent copies of documents (1,2,3,4) released under the Official Information Act which show that one of National’s first acts in government was to trim a Conservation Park at the request of a mining company, ignoring local concerns and official advice, to let the company dig up the land for coal.

Gerry’s gift to future generations

Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, February 11th, 2010 - 38 comments

Quick comments

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, February 11th, 2010 - 18 comments

The Government and the secretive Iwi Leadership Group are looking at an option where no-one owns the foreshore and seabed. It’s often forgotten that the Ngati Apa case, which sparked the foreshore and seabed, contraversy was about big business. Ngati Apa wanted to have title over the seabed so it could undertake aquaculture, bypassing a […]

Bulldozing Fiordland: Brownlee committed

Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, January 22nd, 2010 - 17 comments

In the Otago Daily Times on Wednesday, Gerry Brownlee confirmed he was personally pushing for a new road to be bulldozed through the middle of Fiordland National Park. “I’m personally supportive of it but it’s not something that the Government is actually considering at the present time. It’s something that sits out there as a […]