Interesting clips here give ‘food for thought’ and I think that we should be banding together to do the same thing.
Forming a New Zealaner Miners Rights Association to;
Lobby the Government
Educate the Public and SHOW gold fossicking as being; - a) a healthy FAMILY hobby b) a RIGHT of ALL New Zealanders c) an environmentally FRIENDLY hobby
Open new areas for those interested in having shares in low cost claims so that they have areas close to home and can also visit areas in which the groups has claims to camp and fossick.
These areas would of course be under claim to the group - an initial joining fee would be required and that fee would go towards setting up claims. One member with expertise might do the ‘paper work’ and receive his membership free. A yearly fee would pay for claim fees and costs which should be minimal.
A plastic card would be issued each year which would show yearly to show valid membership.
All these things were inspired while watching two video clips - many things inspire me but the cost of petrol and living in a 'slave/police state prevents me!
I also think that a parent body could also be set up to protect the rights of ALL New Zealanders. This parent body would not be included in the Mining Claims but it would give the mining claims strength through numbers by actively involving itself in protecting the rights of OTHER interested groups…hunters access and firearm rights, trampers and walkers access, fishermens access and so on.
These are just a few thoughts because unloess we do soemthing about it ALL our rights will be denied as they have become severely eroded over the years and it is only us Golden Oldies - Aka the Senility Brigade - who have that benchmark of comparison…and WE KNOW that we are losing our RIGHTS in OUR country - which other bastards think they own.
lack of numbers is the problem though to get rules changed. your average joe public wouldn’t have a clue what fossicking is about and probably don’t care. not enough of us for govt officialdom to take any notice of or care about what we think. when I started fossicking 5 years ago I contacted nzpam about making it possible to get a rights to fossick type of license. they said they were currently looking into it. 5 years later no change and I would bet in 5 years time there will still be no change.
Yes you are right but we need someone to run with the thoughts I can come up with - public exposure through seleted media outlets - even fair go. I can come up with some pretty strong stuff to air on Fair go - and via the newspapers and on the internet.
Yeah its a bit of a tricky one …how best to approach these issues…I totally agree with you Lammerlaw that all outdoor loving kiwis should join together into an all encompassing lobby group.
I would love to make a Youtube video that clearly explains the difference between the panning,stream sluicing,sniping n detecting hobby prospector and large scale mining.
Also showing in the field just how minimal the impact is on the environment from hobby mining(and how fun it is)
I have been reading some pretty interesting research studies from the states about how dredging is actually helping improve the health of some rivers and waterways.
And lastly yes of course that ole pipe dream…establishing some sort of (NZ gold prospectors Assn)would be great.(i’d be in) I think if this group had a strong “code of conduct” outlining guidelines for prospecting in an environmental sustainable way for its members would be a good start, with the view to eventually lobbying govt to expand this as a fossicking right into other Doc areas…just a thought.
Something like this?
"NZ Gold Prospectors Assn"
Code of Practice
Prospecting in flood zone only (no digging in stockbanks or removing vegetation)
-Removal of all rubbish and contaminants.(Take out everything you bring in)
-Return all diggings to near natural state.(fill in holes,take down weirs n dams).
-Protect and encourage the re establishment of all native flora and forna.
-Respect the rights of private claim owners.
-Non-motorized mining equipment only.
-Prospect at least 20 meters away from another person.
-Gold panning naked is forbidden…(no small nuggets in the pan…lol)
Something like this?..yeah it’ll never happen!!..NZ too small!
hi Mal, thats a fantastic idea , I still think members should purchase our own claims and secure acsess and start protecting what we have , before like everything else its gone, ive also read the reports from the new 49ers battles in california and the evidence is there that there is no damage id things are kept in the flood zone, just seems to me everything is being raped on a huge scale , commercial fishing, intensive farming at a big cost to the environent , it gets the greeen light from government, while everything else , acsess , freedom camping , ect is getting taken away ,…dont get it at all, its the small guy the working tax payer who suffers
I’ve seen a few posts about the Cali miners standing up to the authorities, can’t agree more that we should be doing the same thing.
We can gain more support by creating awareness of the current free fossicking areas. Then go from there. Anything that promotes tourism is good, and if we can get people to pay for a fossicking licence I think Locals, Councils, DOC, Govt would all get on board for a share of the revenue.
Well we certainly found out yesterday how vulnerable our precious fossicking areas are at risk of being changed and/or areas deleted at any time without warning(Louise Creek).Just another reason we should band together as a cooperative to secure as many claims as we can…just saying!!