Logic is lacking in the Government’s push to protect wetlands when it comes to coal, says Straterra CEO Josie Vidal.
“Straterra welcomes the Government’s moves to fix some earlier issues in the regulations to protect wetlands, but we
oppose the way coal is being singled out in the latest consultation,” Vidal says.
“We share the Government’s desire to protect New Zealand’s natural wetlands and support the intention to enable mining
and other activities where appropriate, while still ensuring no further wetlands loss. But there must be logic and an
evidence-base applied to regulations to do this.
“These regulations are not the appropriate place to push for a sunset date for thermal coal mining (2030), and to single
out coal as somehow different when it comes to mining activities. There is no logic in this when the Government has said
it is phasing out coal boilers by 2037 and it is widely acknowledged that New Zealand will be dependent on fossil fuels
for electricity generation for some time yet.
“These regulations are about addressing the effects of activities, which depend on the mining method, not the type of
mineral being extracted.
“We contend that there should be no distinction made between different types of minerals in the wetland regulations.
“Meeting climate change imperatives is better left to the Emissions Trading Scheme and other provisions of the Climate
Change Response Act.
“Coal remains essential to some food production and heating hospitals in New Zealand, as well as ongoing electricity
supply, and if we don’t source it from our own backyard, we will be importing it.
“This only pushes our climate change obligations offshore, potentially to countries that don’t share our highly
regulated employment, health and safety, and environmental standards. We don’t believe ‘out of sight, out of mind’ fits
with New Zealand’s climate change narrative on the global stage.
“While the proposed changes on the table have gone a long way to fixing some earlier issues and we are encouraged by the
Government’s desire to provide a consent pathway for mining in wetlands, we need to see the next iteration to ensure the
regulations would be workable.
“Across all our engagement on the environmental moves by Government, Straterra supports development being considered on
its merits, on a case-by-case basis. Those merits should span social, economic, environmental, and cultural
considerations,” Vidal says.
Straterra is the industry association representing New Zealand minerals and mining sector. You can read our submission here.