Minister of Resources and of Regional Development Shane Jones has been busy boosting the prospects of an expanded mining and oil industry in Aotearoa New Zealand. A new mining policy is “long overdue”, he has said, and will counter the country’s “excessive levels of environmental protection”.
Alongside his more colourful statements – that blind, endangered frogs might be sacrificed for exploration or mining developments – Jones has proposed amendments to the Crown Minerals Act and developed a new draft minerals strategy that is currently out for consultation.
The new strategy aims for ten significant new mining operations by 2045 and a doubling of export value (to NZ$2 billion). The strategy also calls for prioritising economic gain and regional development over environmental protections.
