Mr Cunningham said he wouldn't be surprised to encounter some opposition to the scheme.
"We've got a pretty good outlook on keeping the environment in a very good condition. But there will always be opposition.
"Most people, we'll take with us and some people, you never will."
Mr Cunningham said the proposed mining would have more impact than restoring it to natural wetlands but much less impact than swamp kauri extraction.
"We are talking about around 20ha per year. It's not a wholesale change, like a small paddock per year."
Mr Cunningham said he believed the land would be left in "a good condition" after the peat had been worked. "We are working with biologists to put together a technical report."
Northland Inc. chief executive David Wilson told the Age the economic development agency had been looking at the peat extraction proposal for almost two years and had approved it for consideration by the regional council.
"We will be presenting our report to the council, and it will be considered in confidential bcause of the commercial sensitivity of the proposal," he said.
Mr Wilson said the scheme has passed a "high hurdle" to have Northland Inc board approval. "We like to think that by the time it gets there, all due diligence has been done. We have looked at the track record of the parties involved, the chances of success and the sustainability. It's a good project, we believe it ticks all the boxes.
"Our belief is, it has strong economic benefits for the region."
Ngai Takoto chief executive Rangitane Marsden said the idea had already been mooted before the iwi gained control of the land, which had been massively exploited over the years.
"As it is, it's a liability for us," he said.
The biggest threat to the Kaimaumau area is Australian wattle, Mr Marsden said.
"If we don't do something, it will become the biggest wattle forest in Northland."
For that reason, Mr Marsden said peat mining was being considered as well as honey production, kauri log extraction and a wetlands conservation area.
"Because of the peat and the kauri logs, it is not conducive to good farm land. We've done a little trial on the Sweetwater farm block and we were able to repatriate it. We cleaned it up and got some logs out and made some money, though only a little. We put in pasture and troughs and we have cows grazing it now."
Mr Marsden said the iwi hoped Resin & Wax and Northland Inc. could leave the land in better condition for eco-friendly Maori farming.
"Our view is, if it takes five years or 10 years to get this operation going, that's fine," he said. "It's up to them to convince us they can get it right."
Mr Marsden said he was comfortable with discussing the scheme with potential opponents. "I"m not afraid to have that conversation with the knockers. The word 'mining' gets people going, I understand that. But people need to understand we inherited this land as it is. We didn't set out to be farmers or miners. But if we don't do something with this land, it's going to be an even bigger environment threat than what it is now."
Mr Marsden said he hoped the peat extraction could show how sustainable treatment of the environment could be balanced with business opportunities.
"By creating 30 jobs, we could virtually employ all of Kaimaumau."
