Back-down humiliating for Key

Despite Prime Minister John Key’s best efforts to pass the buck, today’s back-down on mining in schedule four land is humiliating for him and his cabinet colleagues, Labour Leader Phil Goff says.

“While Labour welcomes this back-down, why did it take so long? It has always been clear that New Zealanders did not want mining in National Parks and other areas like the Coromandel, so why didn’t the Government listen then?” Phil Goff said.

“It leaves John Key embarrassed and exposed on his lack of any credible plan to keep his promises of more jobs and higher wages to bridge the gap with Australia,” Phil Goff said.

“New Zealanders should never forget that the idea to mine schedule four land was John Key’s. He promoted it to Kiwis, he touted it as having huge economic benefits,” Phil Goff said.

“The economic downside of mining our most beautiful protected areas was the damage it could have caused to our tourism industry. It employs 185,000 Kiwis and is a $21billion industry. Damaging that industry for a one-off gain when profits were going to overseas mining companies was never going to be in our interest.

“When will John Key come to the realisation that what New Zealand really needs for growing jobs and incomes is a skills strategy; a reversal of cuts to research and development and removing the cuts National made to Kiwisaver and the Cullen Superfund which could provide investment capital for enterprise.

“These policies are the key to bridging the gap with Australia which John Key has promised but not delivered upon.

“National hasn’t changed its values, or lack of values, around mining our most protected areas. But they have been scared off by the public backlash,” Phil Goff said.