GOING FOR GOLD

Forest and Bird, Volume 21, Issue 2, 1 May 1990, Page 18

GOING FOR GOLD

by

Gerard Hutching

OR THE MOMENT, Opito Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula near Whitianga is a typically peaceful coastal Coromandel hamlet. For the moment, the threatened New Zealand dotterel nests among the pingaocovered sand dunes. Each year birds return to nest, sign that they continue to find this patch of coastline sufficiently tranquil to raise their young, which cannot be said for many other northern coastlines.

For the moment, pohutukawa, still relatively untroubled by possums in this part of the world, line the coast. Green pasture gently rolls to the sea, past ponds where the rare brown teal has recently made a home. For the moment, for the moment. But soon the lives of the wildlife, the plants and the people who live at Opito Bay could be changed, perhaps forever. Australian company Barrack Mining is pushing for a prospecting licence over 127 ha

of the Edens and Chapman families’ farm, including sand dunes, wetlands, nine known Maori archaeological sites and productive farmland. Should their prospecting bear fruit, Barrack Mining are likely to apply for an open cast mine, rendering much of the area virtually unsuitable for farming and for wildlife. Skipper Chapman is becoming a bit of a celebrity these days, although he would prefer to be out of the limelight. The mid-60s cow cockie and his wife Joyce have spent 40 years working on the formerly abandoned 450 ha farm. Today it supports them, their daughter Sue Edens, son-in-law Murray Edens and grandchildren Ross and Kim Edens. Ever since Barrack and their New Zealand agent Applied Geology Associates descended onto the Opito Bay farm in 1988, the families’ lives have been overturned. Skipper’s rugged profile now adorns full page newspaper advertisements describing the threat to the area. The family have boned up on mining law to find out what their rights are and the young children are worried about what might happen to the fishing and their way to life. When Barrack decided to apply for a prospecting application, the Chapmans and Edens responded immediately, mailing to the 200 ratepayers in the area to arrange a meeting. An overwhelming 140 of the ratepayers backed the family and filed objections to Barrack’s prospecting application. The Planning Tribunal was due to hear the case in March this year. Sue and Murray Edens are Forest and Bird members. Sue in particular has a strong interest in the natural world, having spent nearly all her life on the farm. Skipper has over the years created a number of artificial wetlands on the farm that are now sanctuaries for wildfowl.

"We don’t want mining on the peninsula," says Sue. Her mother Joyce enjoys the peace of the bay. "| remember seeing the porpoises migrate twice yearly and the birdlife, with the bellbirds attracted to the bottlebrush and the dotterels nesting on the sand dunes," she says. So far the families have spent $40,000 preparing for the case against the miners. But in addition to that cost is the cost of an uncertain future, of work not carried out on the farm because it might be soon undone by a miner's pit. They are not impressed by the present mining laws. Thanks to the Mining Act, Barrack Mining can move onto their farm against their wishes. Their only recourse is to the Planning Tribunal, but the odds are heavily stacked against them as the legislation favours mining. Mining companies invariably persuade the Planning Tribunal to reject landowners’ appeals. Applied Geology Associates, the New Zealand agent acting on behalf of Barrack, believe that monetary compensation is the panacea for the Chapman's and Edens ills. "I know from their point of view it is an intrusion of lifestyle and privacy. They want to protect their land. Barrack has offered far more compensation than the law provides for, but they chose to refuse it," says Rob Owen of Applied Geology Associates. And that, for the moment, is where the issue stands: Barrack and Applied Geology Associates perplexed over why someone should refuse an offer "generous to an extent which is unnecessary"; a family determined to refuse that "generosity" in preference for an undisturbed lifestyle in which dotterels, brown teal and porpoises continue to enrich their souls.

The Mining Legislation — What’s Wrong With It

HE CHAPMANS AND EDENS would not be in the position they are if the law was framed more fairly. When Geoffrey Palmer launched his resource management law reform he promised a major overhaul of the present mining legislation with its draconian provisions in favour of mining. But his Resource Management Bill, introduced late last year and at a select committee at the time of writing, has failed to tackle the major problems with mining legislation. The Bill does not deal with the most basic concern of all: what if a landowner does not want mining on his or her land? No other land-use industry has this special privilege. The mining industry is also the

only one that can force its way onto conservation land as the present power of the Minister of Conservation to veto mining has been removed. Mining industry pressure on Prime Minister Palmer has persuaded him to back mining minister David Butcher rather than Conservation Minister Philip Woollaston. However, the recent announcement by Mr Woollaston to ban mining from national parks and specially protected areas is a welcome first step in protecting conservation land. Forest and Bird and other conservation groups are working with Federated Farmers to counter the mining industry lobby and persuade the Prime Minister to give landowners the right of veto for their

own land. The Minister of Conservation must have the right to veto mining on other conservation lands. New Zealand's conservation estate is under attack from overseas mining companies. Conservation values on private land are also under threat. To safeguard our remaining natural areas and the rural way Of life, we need to give the right to say no to mining to those who have stewardship over the land. The mining industry is well known for its insensitivity to the values of natural ecosystems or to allowing landowners such as Skipper Chapman the right to undisturbed occupation of their land. #&