Amanda
Gillies, for The Detail
A
proposal to expand mining operations on the Denniston
Plateau pits the economy against ecology, leaving the
Government facing a high-stakes decision.
A
proposal to extend mining on the Denniston Plateau has
triggered a flashpoint on the West Coast, with conservation
groups taking on the company behind the plan.
More
than 12,400 people have now signed a petition to protect the
Denniston Plateau, stating that the conservation land should
be reserved for native species, not for fast-tracked coal
mines.
“Denniston hosts unique ecological associations
which, if destroyed, cannot be recreated,” reads
the Forest and Bird petition, which passed the
“milestone” number of 10,000 last week.
“Denniston is
rated by Department of Conservation scientists as one of the
top 50 most ecologically valuable sites in Aotearoa. This
public conservation land should be permanently protected for
nature – not destroyed by a massive coal mining
expansion.
“A proposed large-scale opencast coal
mining expansion would dig up an area equivalent to 1700
rugby fields, completely destroying the ecosystems which are
present.
“This project is a financially reckless
gamble betting on a dying industry. There is a high risk of
it becoming a worthless stranded asset while leaving New
Zealand taxpayers to pay the multi-million dollar bill for
the inevitable environmental cleanup.”
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Mining company
Bathurst Resources wants to expand operations, extracting
more high-grade coal to export for steel
production.
Supporters say it would secure hundreds of
jobs and provide a crucial economic lifeline for the region,
which has long relied on mining wages and
royalties.
Bathurst currently employs 317 people,
another 72 full-time contractors, and pays salaries and
wages of $27.8 million.
The project has been approved
for application under the Government’s fast-track
legislation, meaning ministers could sign it off with fewer
opportunities for public challenge.
But to date,
Bathurst hasn’t applied.
The delay has surprised
Newsroom’s political reporter Fox Meyer, who has covered the
story for more than a year, and he tells The Detail,
it’s changed his thoughts on whether the proposal process
and consent will be a smooth transaction.
“If you had
asked me that when the fast track became law, I would have
guessed that it would have been a relatively quick approval
for the project with some protest action on the side,” he
says.
“What I have been surprised to see is that they
haven’t even applied yet, this has taken longer, the protest
action has been more dramatic than I thought it would be,
and the decisions that the fast-track panels have been
making have not been complete environmental
overrides.
“They have worked within the confines of
that Act, in a way that seems to be, to me, pretty
reasonable, which is good, that’s a good thing to
see.
“What I can tell you is it won’t be smooth
sailing, there’s no way. How contentious this is already, is
going to continue.”
Bathurst Resources wants to keep
mining coal on the West Coast for another 25 years and is
proposing to extend its mining operations via the
continuation of existing consents and securing new mining
areas.
Environmental organisations say the proposal
threatens one of New Zealand’s most distinctive landscapes.
The plateau is home to rare wetlands, unique plant species,
and threatened birdlife, including great spotted kiwi and
fernbirds.
And they argue that once these habitats are
disturbed, they cannot be meaningfully restored and warn
that the project is incompatible with New Zealand’s climate
commitments because the coal would be burned
overseas.
“The coal in this area is going to be a
target for someone, always, no matter what,” says Meyer.
“The legislation of the day may make it easier or harder to
get to, but this issue will keep burning for as long as we
are burning coal.”
Ministers are expected to decide in
the coming months. For the West Coast, the outcome
represents more than a single project – it could shape the
region’s economic direction for decades and decide the fate
of one of its most fragile and contested
landscapes.
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