Private members bill drafted to stop mining in schedule four conservation areas

Concern about changes to schedule 4 conservation land that open up protected land to mining has led Labour MP Jacinda Ardern to lodge her first Private Members Bill.

“My bill proposes that if the Minister of Conservation wants to remove an item of land from schedule 4 for commercial purposes such as mining, the decision would have to be made subject to approval of the House of Representatives,” Ardern said.

“Currently, the Minister of Conservation can remove land from Schedule 4 without any other Member of Parliament formally being involved in the process. This bill changes that and makes sure that every MP puts on record their position on the mining of our National Parks and protected areas.

“The bill not only addresses the Labour Party’s concerns over mining land that is currently protected, but also our concerns that the Minister of Conservation has not acted as an advocate for our most precious land- in fact she has played a role in putting forward the proposals to open up parts of schedule 4.”

“Having attended several meetings in the Auckland region on the proposed changes to schedule 4, it became clear to me that many members of the public feel strongly about conserving New Zealand’s natural heritage.”

“Last night a poll was released showing that in areas such as Great Barrier Island nearly 70 percent of people don’t want it mined and across the country more than 50 percent of population don’t want protected land to be opened up for mining.

“New Zealand is a beautiful place and it is imperative that we conserve places like the Coromandel, Great Barrier Island and Paparoa National Park,” Jacinda Ardern said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media