It comes as the panel considering the fast-track application for the Australian mining company’s Bendigo-Ophir gold project confirmed the final decision date would be pushed back after the company volunteered a pause period.
Labour environment spokeswoman Rachel Brooking said the party was against the current fast-track process being used to approve resource applications for mining projects that were complex and potentially threatened the local environment.
‘‘Projects such as this should go through a full resource consent application process, one that includes public consultation, that prioritises environmental protection and considers Te Tiriti,’’ Ms Brooking said.
‘‘That includes the Bendigo project, which will have a substantial and perpetual impact on the environment and community.’’
Labour was not opposed to mining for minerals that was approved through a robust process that protected the environment.
If elected, Labour would assess projects approved through the fast-track process on a case-by-case basis and review any that could have ‘‘consequential significant negative environmental effects’’ to see where these could be mitigated.
When pressed on whether her party would overturn or pause Santana’s application, Ms Brooking said its policy ‘‘has been to not revoke permissions granted’’, and it still was.
A full policy was to come.
‘‘Look, on behalf of the Labour Party, I can tell you, clearly, we absolutely oppose this fast-track process for the Santana mine,’’ Mr O’Connor said.
‘‘This is a very complex proposition; it has huge environmental impacts into the Clutha catchment.’’
He described Central Otago as a ‘‘unique and fragile environment’’.
‘‘You can’t just come and put a mine in.
‘‘What will be left there will not be some pristine rehabilitation, it will be a ginormous hole in the ground, with some risks long-term to the community in that area.
‘‘The idea that Tarras will be transformed into this nirvana of prosperity is absolute bull.....’’
The fast-track process had a robust set of guardrails and the decision-making panel must operate under law.
‘‘They cannot and must not be swayed by Quasimodo characters who hate mining,’’ Mr Jones said.
‘‘Sadly, the closest that the Labour Party these days gets to mining gold is buying a nose ring at the local market.’’
Mining did have an impact on the environment, but the vineyards dotted across Otago also introduced ‘‘negative externalities into the so-called pristine environment’’, Mr Jones said.
‘‘I would have thought the greater threat to Otago is sluggish economic earnings, disappearance of talent out of the area and the need to generate more economic revenue so that Otago can help pay for the bill of the Dunedin hospital — the most expensive hospital per capita in the southern hemisphere.’’
Projects such as the proposed mine affected how New Zealand and its whole economy was viewed by domestic and overseas investors, Mr Jones said.
A tiny minority were not allowing the extractive sector to find a legitimate place for future development.
‘‘This is the tragedy of these Quasimodo economic characters. They all agitate for the most expensive hospital in the history of New Zealand, but none of them want to tolerate significant economic development to generate the tax revenue, to generate the economic surplus to pay for that hospital, all of which they will be handsome beneficiaries of.’’
Santana Minerals announced a week ago it had volunteered a ‘‘pause period’’ to enable the provision of additional data, reports and time to workshop conditions with regulators, while still remaining in the statutory fast-track timeframe.
A spokesperson for the fast-track team said periods of suspension were excluded from the statutory timeframe.
‘‘As a result, the suspension does not affect the panel’s ability to meet that 140-working day deadline.
‘‘The final decision date will shift accordingly, with the revised timing depending on how long the suspension remains in place.’’
The deadline for a final decision by the fast-track panel was initially October 29.
Santana Minerals chief executive Damian Spring said the company encouraged Ms Brooking and her Labour colleagues ‘‘to speak with us directly and join the hundreds of people who have attended one of our 80-plus community drop-in sessions to better understand the evidence behind the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project’’.
‘‘We believe the best conversations are based on facts, not assumptions.’’
Mr Spring did not answer questions about the timeframe of a final decision.
The Green Party announced last year, if elected, it would commit to revoking any consents or permits issued under the fast-track process for coal, hard-rock gold and seabed mining.
