Broad Support for Resumption of Mining, Oil and Gas Prospecting in New Zealand

Published on September 30, 2024

Over 90 percent of submissions have expressed broad support for New Zealand’s proposed minerals strategy, though many oppose mining on conservation land, seabed mining, and new coal extraction. Resources Minister Shane Jones said that indicated “a strong appetite for a considered, enduring approach to minerals development.” He aims to double the sector’s export value to $2 billion (US$1.27 billion) over 10 years, along with creating an additional 2,000 jobs in the sector. It comes after the previous Labour government was moving, albeit very slowly, toward introducing a total ban on all new mining, as promised by former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2017. It had banned oil and gas prospecting and tried to introduce restrictions on mining on public conservation land....

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