SCHEDULE FOUR.

Tuateawa is surrounded by Schedule 4 conservation estate. It is also surrounded by gold bearing areas, like the Tokatea. There is even an old mine site, The Gisborne Mine, in the hills behind Waikawau. Who knows what potential reserves were found by prospectors in the 70's? In that respect it is of interest to examine the statements of a past and present Minister for Conservation, The Hon. Nick Smith. These statements come from a speech that he made during the third reading of the Crown Minerals Act (No. 2) 1997. The Act introduced Schedule 4 protection for high value D.O.C. estate. This effectively precluded all mining and exploratory activity in Schedule 4 areas. These became prohibited activities.

Nick Smith said, " This is landmark legislation for the conservation movement in NZ. I welcome the Bill's progress and, as Minister of Conservation, look forward to not having to consider mining applications in those areas where nature should be able to rule the roost."

He also said, "This Bill at long last puts some pegs in the sand in some very significant areas of NZ. and says to to the mining industries of NZ, "These are no go areas." "

The Bill had broad cross party support and was a blending of a Private Members Bill by Judith Tizzard, on behalf of Watchdog, and also honoured an coalition agreement made between the National Party and New Zealand First. The Act gave protection against mining activity to all high value Conservation Estate in the country. All D.O.C. land, north of a line from Kopu to Hikuai attained Schedule 4 status. In effect it was a widening of an 1990 Act, introduced by National which banned mining in National Parks.

Today Schedule 4 areas are again under the threat of mining activity. Shortly after the present Govt. came into power Gerry Brownlee and Nick Smith directed their specific Ministries. The Ministry of Energy and Resources and the Ministry of Conservation were to investigate facilitating the mining process on Crown Estate, including Schedule 4 land. This was a major policy change that the Govt. had not included in it's pre -election manifesto.

The Crown owns all the mineral rights in New Zealand, even on private land. Since the mid 1990's Watchdog, feeling encouraged by it's Schedule 4 triumph, has also had a role in attempting to protect private land on the Coromandel from mining. The mechanism pursued was to include an anti mining provision in the Thames Coromandel District Council's District Plan. Over that time mining interests opposed this initiative. Recently the impossibility of a legal resolution lead to an arbitrated settlement. Mining interests have conceded to Moehau being a no go area and that coastal areas and areas adjacent to areas of outstanding landscape value should not be surface mined. Rural and industrial areas are also excluded from mining activity.Watchdog did make one concession that could be damaging. They agreed not to include a non mining provision in the T.C.D.C. District Plan, regarding the Conservation Estate. A few days after the mediated settlement was made public the country became aware of just that possibility in Schedule 4 land. One of the parties to this mediation process was aware of the Schedule 4 investigation and did not share this knowledge as required in the mediation process.

As for the future, the Govt's draft proposal will be available for public consultation and input sometime in February. The Watchdog website can be found at, www.watchdog.org.nz. This is obviously a fairly recent site but it has good content and plenty of links, ideal for getting to grips with this issue. The email address is watchdog@pohutakawa.org.nz. There is also a Facebook page.

As for Nick Smith's pegs in the sand. I hope that they are not staking out a mining claim on some Coromandel beach! As the price of gold rises on the world market the pressure on our little corner of the world just has to get greater!