According to the Draft Minerals Strategy, the Ministry for Business wants to double NZ’s mineral exports to $2 billion by 2035. This would involve scaling up current exports (gold, coking coal), getting into new mineral mining (e.g. vanadium, lithium), some domestic processing and refining, and potentially “ten significant mining operations“.

Some of the key actions from this strategy include the Fast-track Approvals Bill and amendments to the Crown Minerals Act 1991 and Resource Management Act 1991 and its national direction to “improve consenting processes” and provide “an enabling and enduring framework for responsible minerals development.”

This is an extremely dangerous combination, risking irreversible damage to our life-supporting environment while stripping away participatory democracy and ignoring the alternatives of an extractive economy. The Draft Minerals Strategy is open for submissions until the 31st July 2024.

Our information and submission blitz evening provided participants with an overview of the strategy and interactive discussions on a wide range of issues and points you might want to raise in your submission, letter to the editor, social media posts or meetings and conversations with you local MPs, colleagues and friends.

Our expert panelists and speakers included:

Augusta Maccassey-Pickard (Communities Against the Fast Track); Cindy Baxter (Kiwis Against Seabed Mining); Catherine Delahunty (Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki); Sarah Lucas (Forest and Bird); and Tuhi-Ao Emily Bailey (Climate Justice Taranaki).

Huge thank you!

We had a very informative evening with some stimulating discussions, thanks to our panelists and all participants.

You can access the recording here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/y69j_wKHcl-YcB-YKD5LTKK5Z0DTXZ3QEfrsdEEY84NL3My2KMqjK9TKVSzvSAzH.HXINBh-Gdz_exxPX
Passcode: 40^+N2Hu

Do skip the 13 minutes of breakout room session from 16:09-29:06. Apology for that.