Sharpen the ploughshares: Battle is about to be joined on mining

The Government is planning "significant" changes to the Crown Minerals Act next year to make it easier for miners to explore and then extract minerals, and it will consult the public and industry soon...........The proposal comes as oil exploration company TAG Oil has written of turning the East Coast into the "Texas of the south" with the potential of building thousands of wells in the region.

Herald

Mr Heatley is about to lead government into battle against the environment and its many lobbies. We can assume that the "consultation" is a sham. The decision to allow easier and bigger mining is made, and the government's alliance with mining capital is prospering. That said, Mr Heatley must rue such comments as that made by TAG Oil above. I doubt if any part of NZ wishes to be transformed into anything like Texas, and the idea of thousands of "nodding donkeys" spread across the East Coast will fill many people with horror. The Key Government does not understand the depth of feeling that the prospect of mining promotes, especially when  it involves things like deep-water exploration and extraction or changes to the protected status of many environments.

They have been warned by the demonstrations in their first term. Onwards to battle once more.