Tales from Tawa: People Power
...The jewel in New Zealand's crown is its beautiful, pristine National Parks. Nevertheless, the current government feels that within the next 15 years it can catch up with Australia. It announced earlier this year, it proposed doing this by allowing mining in conservation areas and land assigned as National Parks, because as it was, the land was not productive. In other words, it wanted to destroy the very thing that makes New Zealand unique...
Eve-Marie Wilson takes her country's Government to task for plans to allow the desecration of natural beauty.
An economic downturn, a credit crunch, a recession, call it what you will, the result is the same; the economies of all nations have been spiralling downwards.
While most governments are simply seeking a way of remaining solvent, the New Zealand government is aiming to go one step further, in that it proposes to close the gap between its own and the more buoyant Australian economy.
At the moment New Zealand is listed at number 20 out of 179 countries on the annual United Nations Human Development index while Australia holds the number four spot, supposedly indicating it has a higher standard of living.
I can’t see how the economies of New Zealand and Australia can ever be on a par as they are two completely diverse countries. Australia is a continent with a population of over 20 million and an almost uninhabitable centre full of minerals just waiting to be mined. New Zealand, on the other hand, is made up of two small islands which are home to only 4 million people. Its economy is based on agriculture and tourism.
The jewel in its crown is its beautiful, pristine National Parks. Nevertheless, the current government feels that within the next 15 years it can catch up with Australia. It announced earlier this year, it proposed doing this by allowing mining in conservation areas and land assigned as National Parks, because as it was, the land was not productive. In other words, it wanted to destroy the very thing that makes New Zealand unique.
Tourism is New Zealand’s single biggest earner, generating more than $20 billion annually. Statistics show that of all the tourists that came to New Zealand during 2009, 1.3 million of them visited the National Parks.
The National Parks Act 1980 classifies National Parks as areas where the distinctive quality of the scenery, natural features, or ecological systems are so important scientifically their preservation is in the national interest. Schedule 4 of this Act currently prohibits mining in these areas.
Fourteen parks have been created under the provisions of the National Parks Act. Each of these is different. Some contain ancient landforms and unique flora and fauna, others rugged mountainous areas, and still others to glaciers and scenic lakes and dense rain forest. There are also those with tidal inlets or beaches of golden sand.
Aorangi/Mount Cook National Park is an Alpine park. It is home to Aorangi/Mount Cook which at 3,754 metres is New Zealand’s highest mountain, as well as the
29 kilometre Tasman Glacier the country’s longest. This National park has been declared a World Heritage Site, as has the nearby Fiordland National Park with its deep fiords, mountains and waterfalls. All are a haven for endangered birds, insects, fish, lizards and plants which are found nowhere else in the world. To remove the classification that forbade mining these areas would be sacrilege.
The majority of New Zealanders are happy with their quiet, laid-back, outdoorsy lifestyle. We don’t want to be like Australia. We value our own identity and what makes us unique. Those unhappy with what New Zealand has to offer are free to emigrate to Australia. Many do. It is high time the Tories in the Beehive realize there are more things in life than money.
The moment the public gained word of the government’s proposal they expressed their outrage. Despite it being the middle of winter, thousands took to the streets to let the politicians know we value our National Parks and conservation areas more than dollars and cents. People sent emails and wrote letter to their local MP and the Ministers of Conservation and Energy. The opposition Labour Party let the people of New Zealand know if they were voted into power next year they would repeal any rights given to mining companies. Lobby Groups gave the incumbent National government the message in no uncertain terms they would be a one term government if they touch the land New Zealanders hold dear.
Such measures have paid off as Energy Minister, Gerry Brownlee, has announced there will be no mining in areas protected by schedule 4 of the National Parks Act.
“It is not worth the negative impact on the mining industry”, he said. He did however give notice; the industry will be given a clear mandate for its growth in areas outside of schedule 4.
Gee, it’s great to live in a democracy.
