Paparoa National Park must remain wild

Plans to punch holes into Paparoa National Park for profit are a misguided assault on our clean green image, Kevin Hague, Green Party MP said today.

“National Parks are our premiere wild places, much loved by tourists and locals alike, and John Key’s Government is not ruling out open pit mining in these areas,” said Mr Hague.

The South Island’s Paparoa National Park was set aside in 1987. The Park is visually spectacular and home to rare and endangered native birds. It is most famous for the blowholes at Punakaiki.

“The Prime Minister is pretending that somehow there is a net conservation benefit in mining these areas; that we have to destroy them in order to save them. This is an Orwellian nonsense,” Mr Hague said.

“Any proposed conservation fund from mining royalties is far outweighed by the subsidies already provided to the mining industry every year.

“It is a cynical waste of taxpayer’s money to spend millions fossicking about on protected land while cutting critical budgets like health and education.

"We need to act smarter and think ahead of Australia, not blindly chase dirty and destructive economic ideas, like mining our most treasured conservation places.

“It is time that John Key’s Government swallows the dead rat that is Schedule 4 mining, and re-affirms the cross-party consensus that created Schedule 4 in the first place,” Mr Hague said.