Mayor Calls For Open Minds On Mining

It is one of life’s ironies that people who pride themselves on being open-minded are often the opposite.

Recent comments in The Northern Advocate by those against mineral exploration have been notable for their ignorance and prejudice.

I won’t bother responding to Nicky Muir’s gratuitous and misconceived attacks on me in her Inside Out column.

But Catherine Delahunty should be better-informed and more measured in her comments as the Green Party’s mining spokesperson.

Delahunty says I have no mandate to encourage mineral exploration.

Clearly, she is not aware that my council’s support of an aerial survey of the region’s mineral resources stems from an economic summit it held at Omapere in 2005.

This summit was attended by people from a range of businesses, community and iwi groups.

The council also included the survey in annual and long term plans which the public were able to make submissions on.

I have also made no secret of my support for mineral exploration since I was elected Mayor in 2007.

Yet, the people of the Far North saw fit to elect me for a second term in 2010.

I would argue that Delahunty, a list MP, has no mandate to stand in the way of mineral exploration, particularly when the Far North has one of the country’s highest unemployment rates and a median income of $19,200.

She failed to get elected in Coromandel last year, polling third behind Labour.

Perhaps voters in the National-held seat appreciated the positive difference mining has made to their economy.

Newmont Gold employs 350 people at the three mines it operates at Waihi and sustains hundreds of jobs in the community.

Voters might also have been aware that the mining, resources and energy sector was the highest-paid sector in New Zealand last year, with workers earning an average of $111,378.

Despite these significant economic benefits, Delahunty is fighting a new underground mine at Waihi that could add $700 million to the economy and provide employment for 700 families to at least 2020.

She seems determined to also sabotage any mining proposals in Northland before mineral exploration has even taken place.

There may be places in Northland where mining isn’t appropriate for a range of reasons.

But there may also be areas where this is viable from an economic and environmental point of view.

The important thing is that we investigate the opportunities and weigh up the pros and cons before ruling anything in or out.

It would be helpful if Delahunty applied these simple principles of open-mindedness before wading into a debate about what is best for Northlanders.