More transparency from DoC needed over Denniston Mine

The Minister of Conservation has refused to take any action over a potential conflict of interest after a Department of Conservation (DoC) employee with a senior role in respect to the application Department's strategy on the Denniston Plateau was revealed to now be working for the company that intends to mine the ecologically sensitive area, the Green Party said today.

"There needs to be transparency about the development of DoC's position on Bathurst's application to ensure there has been no conflict of interest," Green Party conservation spokesperson Kevin Hague said.

"The Minister also claimed that the DoC staff member who now works for Bathurst Resources had not been involved in considering the applications or making decisions on them; although documents obtained under the Official Information Act demonstrate in fact demonstrate his central role.

"The simple fact is that a DoC employee who was responsible for the Department's strategy on the Denniston Plateau is now working for a company that stands to gain massively from knowing DoC's strategy."

The Minister also defended the Department's failure to be involved in the resource consent applications, saying that DoC could best manage environmental concerns through the access and concessions processes.

"The Minister also dodged a question about public notification of the application for an access agreement which is required by the company to dig the massive open cast mine," Mr Hague said.

"At the very least, the process DoC has followed around these applications must be audited to ensure good process has been followed, and best practice would certainly be to restart the process"

Mr Hague said that this is an example of how the Government's cuts to conservation funding are hurting the places that we want to love and protect.

"Gamekeepers shouldn't have to become poachers, because of losing their jobs as a result of her Government's savage cuts to conservation funding." Mr Hague said.

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