Jones says Bendigo-Ophir gold mine is moving too slowly through fast-track
Mining Minister Shane Jones visited the proposed Bendigo-Ophir gold mine near Cromwell on Tuesday and said it was taking too long under the fast-track approvals system. RNZ
Jones is deputy leader of New Zealand First. He opened Santana Minerals' exploration base at Ardgour, which RNZ identified as Santana Minerals' Exploration Base. He then held a candidates meeting in Cromwell. The trip was the start of his election tour. ODT
Jones said he last visited the site about two years ago. He has spoken in support of Santana Minerals' plan to mine in the Bendigo-Ophir area. Santana Minerals is an Australian-based company. Its fast-track application was lodged nearly a year before Tuesday's visit. Chief executive Damian Spring said the company had spent $100 million on the project. The company has said the mine would bring in billions of dollars in revenue and employ hundreds of people. Spring said the project was less than 50 days from the fast-track panel's expected draft decision.
Jones blamed the legislation for the delay, calling it a "constipated bureaucratic beast". He said changes to the fast-track law were likely if mining decisions were unfavourable. ODT He rejected claims he was putting undue pressure on the fast-track panel. He said the visit showed his commitment to grow the mineral sector.
Nine local people protested at the mine gate during the visit. Before Tuesday, the visit had been called "outrageous" and "inappropriate". RNZ's report on the visit was written by Katie Todd, its Otago/Southland Reporter.
The proposal has also drawn wider public comment. Jones criticised actor Sam Neill's "Posh Picnic" against the mine. That event raised more than $70,000. Stuff Jones later told Steven Spielberg "ET go home" over a donation linked to the Bendigo-Ophir mine. NZ Herald
The Otago visit sits with other work in the portfolio. Enzed Energy has lodged a second application for the Toutouwai prospect in the offshore Taranaki Basin. Enzed Energy was the first explorer to get a new petroleum exploration permit since the offshore exploration ban was repealed. Beehive
The broader context here is awkward for the fast-track system. Ministers put projects forward for assessment and a separate panel decides. A minister opening an applicant's base and campaigning with candidates while a draft decision is due tests that separation, even though the minister says he is backing sector policy. For people who work in this area, the practical signal is Jones raising law reform before decisions arrive. That moves focus from this panel to the next round of changes, and to how conditions, timeframes and appeal rights could be reset if the Government does not like this round.
