Advice on the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill

To: Hon Poto Williams, Minster of Conservation 
Date: 28 September 2022

The Authority was pleased to see Hon Eugene Sage’s bill to amend the Crown Minerals Act 1991, to prohibit the Minister of Energy or their delegate granting permits for minerals activities (prospecting, exploration, and mining) over conservation lands and waters, pulled from the ballot recently. The Bill would also prevent any new coal mines from 2025 onwards. The Authority strongly supports the proposed amendments to the Crown Minerals Act 1991.

The Bill’s explanatory note accurately captures the fact that “conservation lands are the only areas of Aotearoa New Zealand where Government can provide certainty that natural and historic resources will be protected.” In a time of climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, the need to take responsibility for our environment is overarching, and there is no escaping the obligation and duty of Government to pass this bill. Furthermore, as custodians of our public conservation lands, the Minister, the Director-General of Conservation, and the Authority have a duty to lead support in these proposals.

This issue is particularly pertinent at the time of the stewardship land reclassification processes. On the Panel recommendations, vast tracts of public conservation land will remain open to mining. The value of our public conservation land and waters is exponentially greater than any material pulled from them.

The Authority supports the intention of the amendments to restrict commercial mining activity, and retain customary rights for Māori, and access for recreational fossicking and scientific research. The Authority looks to the future, where the flora and fauna of Aotearoa New Zealand must be well positioned to adapt to climate change and recover biodiversity loss. Prioritisation of “nature-based solutions” to the climate crisis is entirely aligned with Government policy.¹

The Authority has seen a recent media article² in which a Labour spokesperson is quoted saying that Labour does not support the Bill and is instead pursuing the commitment to no new mines on conservation land “through the reclassifying of stewardship land and tranche 2 of the Crown Minerals Act review”. We are surprised by this statement. As you will be aware, only those areas listed in Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act (which does not include conservation park) are off limits for mining proposals, so we do not expect the stewardship land review to have a significant impact on the availability of conservation areas for mining. We are aware that Tranche 2 of the Crown Minerals Act review incorporates consideration of mining on conservation land, but as far as we can tell this programme has not progressed since 2020.

New mining activities have been approved across more than 150,000 hectares of public conservation land since 2017. Prompt action to prevent further degradation and loss of values is imperative.

We urge the Minister to support the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill to Select Committee so that the people of New Zealand have the opportunity to express their views on this critical issue.

1. As described in the Emissions Reduction Plan and Te Mana o Te Taiao – Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy.
2. Labour says no to bill banning mining on conservation land, Greens criticise party going back on 2017 promise - NZ Herald