February 21, 2024
Digging way to self-reliance
Energy and Resources Minister Shane Jones says he’d like iwi to rethink their attitude to mining.
Mr Jones says many iwi leaders have a dim view of resource extraction, despite the fact many of the biggest beneficiaries are likely to be Māori who are now in high-paying mining jobs in Australia.
While there will be disruption to the natural environment, the industry has developed sophisticated ways to reinstate what was there before.
He says the country has a big challenge.
“If we want to boost our resiliance we need to ensure we’ve got the food and the minerals and the fuel ourselves rather than relying on distant nations who may not share the same values or the same priorities as New Zealand so do we leave it in the ground in the belief papatuanuku will be less vulnerable? Or do we continue to import it from overseas where our national vulnerability may very well be imperilled,” Mr Jones says.
Independent commissioners are currently considering an application to mine mineral sands from the Barrytown Flats on the West Coast.