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The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Fast-track to where? The new law opening up New Zealand to a mining boom
Kate Selby Smith strides through the undergrowth of a track on the North Island's east coast when the bush suddenly thins to reveal a hidden treasure. 'Welcome to my heaven,' she says, gesturing to a bend in the Wharekirauponga stream where a jade-green swimming hole has formed among the rocks and soft green ferns. 'Isn't it beautiful?' The fairytale grotto lies at the southern end of Coromandel forest park – a protected conservation area home to native flora and rare animals, including one of the world's rarest amphibians, the Archey's frog. Like other locals, Selby Smith brings her family to the pool to swim and explore. But she worries for its future. Further up the valley lies another kind of treasure that has attracted the interest of the government and a multibillion-dollar mining company: gold. New Zealand is embarking on a major mining expansion. A controversial new fast-track law is pushing through projects designed to spur economic growth, alarming groups who say the country's unique biodiversity and natural resources are under threat. 'That legislation is egregiously damaging … for New Zealand's environment,' says Gary Taylor, the chief executive of the Environmental Defence Society. 'It's heavily stacked against the environment and in favour of development – in all my years of working as an environmental advocate, I've never seen anything like it.' For many living in New Zealand – where a deep connection to nature is regularly cited as being an important part of personal and collective identities – the mining strategy undermines a path towards a greener future. They argue it also runs counter to New Zealand's self-image as a wild and pristine place. The country famously promotes itself to the world as '100% pure' and 'clean, green'. Yet to others, the law represents a much-needed boost to the economy. The Minerals Council chief executive, Josie Vidal, says mining is 'one of the most productive sectors in New Zealand, which translates into high wages'. The rightwing coalition government has promised to restart offshore oil and last week set aside $200m of its budget to invest in gas exploration. It plans to boost mineral exports to $3bn by 2035, at the same time it has slashed funding to conservation and climate initiatives. It has also proposed a law change to make it easier for companies to kill protected wildlife in order to pursue certain infrastructure projects. The direction marked a departure from the Jacinda Ardern-led government, which banned new offshore oil and gas exploration and promised to ban new mines on conservation land. The coalition's fast-track law – a 'one-stop shop' for infrastructure and mining projects deemed nationally significant – passed into law in 2024 amid anger that it bypasses environmental regulations, shuts out public consultation and throws a lifeline to so-called zombie projects that have been rejected in the courts and languishing for years. The government says the process will include a description of the project's impacts on the environment, which the decision-making panel must consider. Nearly 150 projects are moving through the fast-track process, including 11 gold, mineral sands and coalmining proposals. They include new mines and expansions to existing projects. Some are generating controversy, including a plan to mine iron sands off Taranaki's seabed previously rejected by the supreme court, and two mines in the South Island's west coast: a goldmine critics fear will threaten rare birds, and a coalmine on ecologically significant land. The fast-track law prompted thousands to march in protest in 2024 and nearly 30,000 public submissions on the bill. Now, targeted protests are springing up around some of the proposed mining sites, including in Selby Smith's beloved Coromandel area. Mining company OceanaGold is hoping to dig a nearly 7km tunnel 200 metres beneath the Wharekirauponga forest in Coromandel, which forms part of a large conservation estate, to mine roughly 34-45 tonnes of gold worth about $5bn. The project is an expansion of the company's existing operations in the nearby historic goldmining town of Waihi and will also include a new open-pit mine, increased storage for tailings – a slurry of ground-up rock that contains oxidised minerals and cyanide – and upgraded infrastructure. Local environment group Coromandel Watchdog – of which Selby Smith is a member – opposes the proposal and has led multiple protest actions against it. The group worries that underground mining blasts will affect Archey's frogs, who sense the world through vibrations. It is also concerned that water-dredging and rock crushing could reshape the underground water systems and release pollutants that could spread downstream, and tailings storage will leave a toxic legacy for future generations. OceanaGold rejects these concerns, saying the project will be a 'win-win'. Alison Paul, the miner's manager for legal and corporate affairs, says 'the right projects in the right place can ultimately achieve both the protection of [the] environment and economic growth'. Paul says OceanaGold's modelling shows vibrations from blasting will have a limited impact on the frogs, and the company's 600-hectare pest-control programme in the amphibian's habitat will give back to the conservation estate. Sucking out underground water to stop the mine flooding will do little damage to the natural waterways, she says, adding that should high risks develop, the company could stop its project. The tailings dams, she says, are highly engineered to withstand the forces of nature for generations to come. Furthermore, the project will bring jobs to the region and produce export income for New Zealand, Paul says. Nearly 1,000km away from Waihi, on the west coast of the South Island, another battle is playing out over Bathurst Resources' proposal to extract an extra 20m tonnes of coal from the Buller plateau over the next 25 years. As in Waihi, the proposal's advocates say it will create jobs and financial growth, while critics worry it will damage the ecologically significant area that is home to rare native species and contribute to climate change. Up the coast, in the North Island, the Taranaki community has spent more than a decade trying to stop Australian company Trans-Tasman Resources from mining 50m tonnes of iron sands from the seabed, while in the far north, Bream Bay locals are hoping to halt a project to dredge more than 8m cubic metres of sand for concrete production. But these communities may struggle to find a sympathetic ear in the government. New Zealand's mining push is being led by the resources minister, Shane Jones, an ardent advocate for extractive industry who wears caps emblazoned with 'Make NZ Great Again, drill baby drill' and once told parliament that 'if there is a mining opportunity and it's impeded by a blind frog, goodbye Freddy'. 'Over the last 10 to 15 years the extractive sector has been marginalised and become an ideological plaything,' Jones told the Guardian. '[For] those people who have sought to deify our wilderness … those days are over. 'We cannot afford to maintain that level of naivety in the face of major geopolitical challenges [and] threats to our national resilience.' New Zealand's economy suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The country experienced the biggest contraction in GDP of any developed country in the world in 2024, due to high interest rates and unemployment. Rebuilding the economy is top of the government's agenda and Jones believes boosting the mining sector will create jobs, attract New Zealanders back to the country and generate GST and export royalties – though he concedes his $3bn by 2035 figure is aspirational. Martin Brook, a professor of applied geology at the University of Auckland, says mining will create well-paid jobs, feed minerals into global supply chains and leave a 'tiny' footprint. 'If any country globally can extract minerals effectively with as little environmental footprint as possible, it is New Zealand,' he says. New Zealand's unique natural environment evolved in the absence of people and predators, creating a high level of endemism. However, its species are in worrying decline, with a high proportion threatened, or at risk of extinction – one of the highest amid the global biodiversity crisis. Many of the country's fresh waterways are in a dire state, contaminated by thousands of sewage overflows, flooded with nutrient pollution from farming and blooming with toxic algae. 'It's a very fragile place,' Taylor says, adding he is concerned the stringent environmental tests that have been placed on mining companies are being whittled away through the fast-track process. 'Our environment could go materially and substantially backwards – more species extinctions, more stuffed-up landscapes, poorer freshwater quality,' Taylor says. Meanwhile, the economic benefits from mining are not certain, says Glenn Banks, a geography professor at Massey University. Fluctuating prices and demand for minerals, as well as challenges in taxing and securing foreign investment make the industry volatile. 'You get a lot of cowboys jump in on the boom and then walk away when prices aren't good,' Banks says. Back in the Wharekirauponga bush, Selby Smith pauses to reflect on the landscape around her. 'This is the crux of it: there are so few of these places left,' she says. 'If this becomes polluted from mining waste – what will we give to our children?'
Scoop
26-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Environmental Defence Society Strikes Procedural Fast-Track Win
Press Release – Environmental Defence Society The EPAs previous approach meant that it was sitting on application documentation for weeks without the public knowing. Thats precious time that interested parties can now use to review a projects technical information. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the administrating agency of the Fast-Track Approvals Act, has accepted the Environmental Defence Society's (EDS) contention that it has not been lawfully applying the Act. The EPA's concession comes after EDS's Barrister Rob Enright wrote to the EPA asserting that the Fast-Track Approvals Act required the EPA to publicly release all information provided to it without delay. Previously, the EPA only published application information once it was deemed complete and within scope. As the EPA stated in its reply to EDS: 'As you are aware the EPA had taken a position that the Fast Track Approvals Act 2024 does not require the publication of incomplete applications. Following your correspondence we have reviewed our position, and agree that, on balance, the documents you have listed must be published by the EPA.' 'This U-turn by the EPA is a significant win that will provide greater transparency in the implementation of a law that is otherwise stacked against public involvement,' said EDS's Chief Operating Officer Shay Schlaepfer. 'The EPA's previous approach meant that it was sitting on application documentation for weeks without the public knowing. That's precious time that interested parties can now use to review a project's technical information. 'This is hugely important given the pace at which applications proceed through the fast-track process and the potentially life-changing impacts of projects on people and the natural environment. Parties need as much time as possible to assess their interest in individual projects and to prepare their cases, including briefing experts and engaging legal counsel. 'We are pleased that the EPA has accepted our position on this occasion and praise its prompt rectification of the issue. 'We now expect to see application documentation published on the website when it is first lodged with the EPA. That should include an application's full Assessment of Environmental Effects. As the EPA accepted in its response to us '[t]he Act does contain a positive duty to act promptly where no time limit has been set and establishes a duty for the EPA to avoid delay as far as reasonably practicable.' 'Despite the fast-track law being largely inhospitable to the principles of natural justice, EDS continues to investigate ways in which it can be implemented to best serve the public interest. Where they exist, we will find them,' concluded Ms Schlaepfer. EDS has published a plain-English peer-reviewed guide of the Fast-track Approvals Act which is freely available at
Otago Daily Times
23-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Warning hoiho still at risk
The Penguin Rescue sanctuary at Kātiki Point endeavours to save the embattled hoiho from extinction. PHOTO: JULES CHIN While Moeraki's yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) are enjoying their annual "holiday" at sea, conservationists warn their battle for survival is far from over. Penguin Rescue manager Rosalie Goldsworthy said the critically endangered birds, at present fledging at sea for up to six months, faced a grim return home. The Kātiki Point sanctuary continues its efforts to protect the birds, but mounting environmental pressures, including disease and pollution, threaten progress. One looming danger is highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has increasingly impacted seabird populations. Ms Goldsworthy noted some recent positive signs, such as improved feeding conditions and movement between colonies. However, she warned these gains were overshadowed by escalating ocean warming and local pollution. A recent Environmental Defence Society report identified the Otago coast, including Moeraki, as experiencing some of the most extreme marine heat. The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust backed the report, which links environmental degradation directly to rising hoiho mortality. Among local concerns is the Moeraki wastewater treatment plant, established by the Waitaki District Council in 2023. Ms Goldsworthy said treated water from the plant had turned nearby beaches green and might be harming marine life, including hoiho and the world's rarest sea lion species. "There's a civic responsibility to care for this environment. "And charging contaminated water into the ocean, into the habitat of really endangered species, it's not my idea of taking responsibility," she said. The Otago Regional Council (ORC) audited the plant in 2023 and found significant non-compliance with nitrogen limits. Council staff also acknowledged irrigation failures, which may have led to over-irrigation and nutrient runoff. While the ORC's last tests showed no toxic organisms in the green beach material, and no concerns from recent shellfish or seawater samples, Ms Goldsworthy remains worried about untested contaminants such as E. coli. "We've never seen this kind of runoff before," she said. She was urging the council to move the septic outflow further from the coast as the issue was "fixable". Despite ongoing conversations, "we haven't had any joy at all". "The council is talking about privatising the water, the delivery of water and the removal of wastewater — this should be a priority action for them."
Scoop
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Leading Environmental Organisations Call On The PM To Reject The Regulatory Standards Bill
Four of Aotearoa New Zealand's leading environmental organisations have today issued a joint open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, urging him to reject the Regulatory Standards Bill in full. The Regulatory Standards Bill is being discussed in Cabinet on Monday, 19 May 2025. The open letter, signed by the executive directors of Forest & Bird, Greenpeace Aotearoa, the Environmental Defence Society (EDS), and WWF-New Zealand, describes the Regulatory Standards Bill as "an unprecedented threat" to environmental protection, climate action, and the country's democratic and constitutional foundations. The organisations warn the Bill would create a dangerous new precedent where governments are expected to compensate companies if new environmental protections interfere with their property, effectively turning the polluters pay principle on its head. --- Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Rt Hon Christopher Luxon Re: The Regulatory Standards Bill Dear Prime Minister, As leading environmental organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand, we are writing to express our deep concern regarding the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. We strongly urge your Government to reject this bill in its entirety. The Regulatory Standards Bill poses a significant and unprecedented threat to New Zealand's ability to respond to pressing environmental challenges, uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and maintain a functioning and responsive democracy. If enacted, this legislation would: Impose financial penalties on environmental action, making it a new and unprecedented expectation that the Crown would compensate corporations when laws to protect nature or the climate affect the use or value of their property; Undermine environmental protections by prioritising individual freedoms and private property rights over the health of nature and the public interest; Establish an unelected Regulatory Standards Board, appointed by the Minister for Regulation, with the power to hear and amplify complaints from companies and pressure the Government over any policy inconsistent with a rigid set of principles. The bill also explicitly excludes Te Tiriti o Waitangi from its set of "good" law making principles. This risks undermining decades of progress towards incorporating Treaty principles into environmental governance and will likely result in legal confusion and uncertainty. The Ministry of Justice has already advised that the Bill fails to reflect the constitutional significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is not aligned with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The principles that all future governments would be required to consider under the Regulatory Standards Bill omit critical aspects of environmental stewardship, and elevate individual freedoms and private property rights above all other considerations. This ideology has no place in our legal system here in Aotearoa, where we have long valued fairness and collective responsibility rather than individual entitlement to harm nature or others under the guise of freedom. At a time of escalating climate change and declining biodiversity, this Bill would make it harder - not easier - for governments to act in the national interest. The Regulatory Standards Bill has been rejected three times before. We believe it should be rejected again. There is no public mandate for this proposal, and it is being advanced through a coalition agreement, not by popular demand or broad consensus. We therefore respectfully call on you to: - Reject the Regulatory Standards Bill in its entirety; - Commit to strengthening, not weakening, the Government's capacity to address environmental challenges for the benefit of all people in Aotearoa and future generations; and - Reaffirm the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in lawmaking and regulatory design.
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Nature In The Balance: EDS Wraps Up Landmark Dollars And Sense Conference
The conference explored how to reshape land use practices to enhance biodiversity and carbon resilience. Speakers including Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton raised concerns about perverse incentives driving pine afforestation … The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has concluded its landmark 2025 Dollars and Sense Conference in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, drawing together over 350 delegates across government, business, iwi, academia, and civil society for three days of frank, future-focused conversation on aligning economic systems with ecological realities. The conference, subtitled Making the Economy Work for Nature, comes at a pivotal moment for Aotearoa New Zealand. The Government talks a lot about economic growth. But the question asked at the conference was: how can we achieve that growth while also restoring and protecting our natural environment? And to what extent is the long term prosperity of the country dependant on thriving nature? The event opened with an oceans symposium, which you can read about here, and was followed by two full days of intensive discussion on climate change, energy, biodiversity, freshwater, land use, environmental law reform, and the green economy. Day one began with sobering international and local updates on biodiversity loss, climate instability and systemic risks, urging more adaptive governance and stronger investment in prevention and resilience. We are in a moment of accelerating risk, but we are not without options. The challenge is having the courage to take them. The conference explored how to reshape land use practices to enhance biodiversity and carbon resilience. Speakers including Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton raised concerns about perverse incentives driving pine afforestation in our rural landscapes. Many called for greater support for place-based native ecosystem restoration and more robust data systems. Te Maire Tau challenged delegates to rethink environmental governance through a te ao Māori lens, including proposals for smart water markets that internalise environmental costs and ensure shared obligations. Legal personhood for nature and recognition of mauri in environmental decision-making were highlighted as models with growing potential. A central theme was the opportunity within the green economy. EU Ambassador Lawrence Meredith offered insight into Europe's progress toward net zero, while Dr Rod Carr outlined the economic logic of energy transformation. 'The business case is made. The technology is proven. The funding is available,' said Dr Carr. 'Our choices are the only thing in the way.' Sir Ian Taylor urged us to 'fast track to the future' and not to the past. Resource management reform was another major focus. Reforming the Resource Management Act has the potential to deliver win-wins for the economy and nature. But delegates heard very little of that from Minister Bishop and Under Secretary Simon Court. While many acknowledged the need for change, there was deep concern about the current direction of travel, described by some as dis-integrated and driven by political urgency rather than long-term environmental planning. Multiple speakers expressed frustration about the erosion of environmental protections and the absence of robust national bottom lines. The over-arching message from the conference was that nature is not a handbrake on economic growth. The two can go hand in hand and need to do so. But this will require clear-headed and clever thinking on the issues, something that has been lacking in recent political discourse. 'This year marks the 20th anniversary of EDS's environmental conferences. For two decades we've been creating spaces for these vital conversations. Finding solutions has never been more important,' said EDS CEO Gary Taylor.
