Should we mine our national parks?

PERMITS TO BE GIVEN TO SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZE COMPANIES, SO THE GOVT. CAN HANDLE THEM IF THEY ABUSE THE ENVIRONMENT , LRG COMPANIES SEEMS TO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO TWIST EVERY ONES ARM INCLUDING THE GOVT. AND THEY WILL ONLY COUNT THERE PENNIES AND GO, WE NEED RESPONSIBLE MINING BY RESPONSIBLE KIWIS , SO I WOULD VOTE YES FOR SMALLER COMPANIES RATHER THAN LRG. FOREIGN COMPANIES. SO NO NEED TO DAMAGE ANY EQUIPMENTS, AND WE DO NEED TO KEEP IN MIND THAT TOURISM IS DECLINING INTERNATIONALLY AND IN NEWZEALAND, AND WE CAN NOT SEE IT IMPROVING IN THIS CURRENT DEPRESSION. SO YES TO RESPONSIBLE MINING, AND IN BUSINESS WE SAY SMALL IS QUOTE.

this is bs

If the NATS want mining done on Conservation land that is precious to us all and invest in $140billion dollars and be like Australia where that country is rich in minerals whereas NZ is a small country of the same value but also rich in minerals then this country will be ruined.I say protect our conservation land but not mine on it.

We are in a financial mess. If we don't do something about it we will end up owned by the Chinese. We will be poor coolie labourers while they rape our country. But - to fend it off we have to do more than mine. We have to rein in our spending - stop the house price cycle properly. Lower the value of the dollar so we can reduce our overseas debt by more competitive exporting. If we don't do these things first any money we get from mining will just go into a black hole, supporting our inefficient, social wlefare favoured economy. Fix our country first. Then mine our one off resources.

I get so annoyed by this constant opinion in this country by a few crazy cult followers of the environmental movement that we cannot take advantage of our natural resources sustainably and still retain its beauty. There is no need to have one over the other, tourism and mining can co exist in todays market. With advancement in technology and better management techniques you can access these minerals without too much disruption to the surrounding landscape and more often than not the landscape is returned to a better state than originally found. I studied natural resource management at varsity and found that often these people (tree huggers) belonged to this movement more out of a sense of religious following and belonging to a group than any real desire to change the world. If we dont start making some hard descisions around this and power production we wil slip into the third world. Being held ransom by wealthy celebritys who are using there ridiculous status to push there world view onto society does nothing but confuse the facts.Get real NZ and grow up

Well if Labour was in power these parks would already be mined so go John Key.

To all you anti mining people:
Where did that gold watch/braclet come from?...Where did that steel Knife and fork come from?...Where did that silver come from?...Where did that steel beam come from that holds up those buildings/bridges/sky tower/beds/kids scooters/bikes/cars/trucks...When you type on your computer key board how do you think the electrical information travles???over plastic?over wood???....Where do you think that copper for that pipe come from yes the one that supplys you with life giving water...Ladys where do you think that diamond earing or wedding ring come from?...And not to mention the hundreds of other things that are mined for in this world...
Our whole civilisation is built on the backbone of mining so all you anti mining people are hypprocrates...your happy to let this mining take place elsewhere in the world so you can have your diamonds gold rare minerals copper STEEL! all these things that are part of our existiance...How can you not like mining it has been part of our world wide civilisation for a very long time...The oldest known mine on archaeological record is the "Lion Cave" in Swaziland. At this site, which by radiocarbon dating proves the mine to be about 43,000 years old, paleolithic humans mined mineral hematite, which contained iron and was ground to produce the red pigment ochre...IF we did not have mining we would still be back in the stone age or the stick age!
As long as the land is not desimated and contaminated and allowed to return back to its former glory which is only a matter of time...then go ahead and mine i say AS LONG AS IT is done with all care under stringent control from an outside group with mining laws established to ensure minimal damage done to surrounding bush!...cummon people we as humans need mining to develop as a race..we are lucky here in nz that our major mining industry is just kicking off and has lernt a hell of a lot from other countrys mining problems...we can do this right i know it!

Mining is old technology for dirty energy. It is inherently limited. Why not develop new tech energy sectors that people could work in long after said mines are run dry. New Zealand is in a unique and powerful geographical location to harness wind and solar technologies. The University of Otago has an excellent Nano Technology department which will be a huge part of all future technologies. I'm sure the people of the great state of Louisiana were thrilled when oil drilling jobs came their way. Now they may loose their entire coast as with the mining of fossil fuels comes unpredictable and contaminating accidents. The mine that recently killed workers in Virginia was kept open because their local politician prioritized jobs over safety. It's not about tourism or mining but about national values and long term planning. New Zealand is a small island nation. As a land mass it is completely different from Australia. Culturally it shares a former commonwealth identity but not too much more. Travel to and from the countries is a different story. The ports are different. And our population is a tiny fraction of theirs - which is a big part of why this remains such a beautiful nation. The two are apples and oranges. Why is there a need to become them? THERE ARE SO MANY LONGER TERM AND MORE SUSTAINABLE WAYS TO BUILD WEALTH AND JOBS. NEW ZEALAND IS IN A GREAT POSITION TO DEVELOP NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES. MINING IS OLD, DIRTY, AND SHORT TERM TECHNOLOGY. In closing the fossil fuels sector is notorious for using the promise of jobs for a bait and switch set up where they can come in take what they want and then leave. Surely we can do better than that.

Sorry, but here comes a rant… is it my imagination or does it seem odd that the only place minerals are to be found in NZ, is on crown land? And only on conservation land ? Rather than look at conservation land for minerals, where else are they? Rather than prove there are minerals on protected land, shouldn’t the government survey every other piece of land first? And if mineral deposits are on saleable land, why don’t the mining companies just buy that land and mine? I understand that its cheaper if mining companies can get government approval to dig up land that is already paid for by tax payers, and pay the government a minimal fee but I wasn’t aware the governments job was to run a business as a middle man for industry. This, as I heard suggested, is just another method of selling public assets, except its not a power station, or railway, it’s the actual ground we call New Zealand. I get that the government will get paid more by leasing crown land, but they are arguing that by default the mining companies will contribute to our earnings with labour and tax. It seems to me that for the small amount of land the mining companies say they want, they could find it elsewhere. After all, if they just want 5% of the 70% of minerals that are on crown land, they must know where the other 30% is. Hell, that’s about 10% of the remaining 30%, there’s even some left over!! Once they get in with their spades they’ll petition for more and more, and I cant imagine any government saying “no” to being paid for something that they don’t even own… If its conservation land, then it should be conserved, if its not, then sell it, but don’t name it one thing, and use it for something else. That land was purchased by us as land to be set aside, and protected by the government, and I just don’t see that happening. Phew.

Eventually the Chinese will own NZ the way we are going, and they will dig it up,and there wont be a thing you can do about it,and it will be messy, so lets have it now and do it tidy and have the $ to keep the Chinese out.