Mining considered for all top conservation land

Government officials suggested removing protection from all high-value conservation land to give mining companies easier access to it, official documents show.

Joint Ministry of Economic Development and Department of Conservation papers last July presented the repeal of Schedule Four of the Crown Minerals Act as one of two options for ministers to consider.

The papers were prepared for Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee and Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson.

According to the ministry, the repeal of Schedule Four - which effectively bans mining in high-value conservation areas - "would likely receive strong support from the minerals industry domestically and internationally and would increase interest and potentially investment in New Zealand".

Without Schedule Four, "significant protection would still be provided for high-value conservation land as the Minister of Conservation would remain the ultimate decision maker on access", the papers released this week under the Official Information Act said.

However, officials said the proposal might create the perception all conservation land would open to mining and would probably draw "a very strong reaction from conservation groups. The potentially open status of the highest-value conservation land to mining activity under this scenario would also likely draw greater scrutiny of any proposals to facilitate access to conservation land generally".

Repeal would have required legislation and the resulting controversy would hinder other less politically contentious changes to the Crown Minerals Act.

But officials said they favoured the other option presented - the review and update of Schedule Four which appears to be the basis of the "stocktake" of Schedule Four land announced by the ministers in March.

The stocktake proposes removing 7058ha from Schedule Four protection.

But Cabinet papers subsequently released show Mr Brownlee and Ms Wilkinson originally recommended the removal of 467,517ha, including more than a third of Kahurangi National Park west of Nelson and the majority of the 73,820ha of Schedule Four land in the Coromandel.

Commenting on the option to repeal Schedule Four, a spokesman for Mr Brownlee said officials often put up a range of proposals so ministers knew the spread of options.

"Certainly it was considered by the ministers to be unacceptable. They obviously didn't go with it.

"I don't think there has ever been any question - especially given that we [National] initially implemented it - that the whole concept of Schedule Four would disappear."

WHAT IS SCHEDULE FOUR?
* A protection for high-value conservation estate land added to the Crown Minerals Act by the National Government in 1997.
* Now covers about 40 per cent of Department of Conservation land.
* It prevents the Conservation Minister from allowing access to the land except for "certain low-impact activities".
* This effectively bans all mining and most mineral exploration activities.