Hobby and commercial miners, the new National Direction Policies are out for consultation. These include a number of things but two points which often hinder mining consenting is how Te Mana o Te Wai is interpreted and applied to consent decisions, and also wetlands.
This consultation gives you the chance to suggest TMOTW is removed from consent decisions and also that wetlands created as a result of human activity are no longer assessed in applications. For many, these two points are quite signficant and render a project unviable.
You can find the link here:
Then:
Scroll down to ‘Provide Feedback’.
The two key ones are Part 2.2 and 2.6.
Go to:
Section 2 Part 2.2 Rebalancing Te Mana o Te Wai
Q6. Tick Outside the NPSFM
Add
“Te Mana o Te Wai is confusing and only experts in Te Ao Maori have the mana, authority and ability to provide an opinion on whether a consent application is consistent with it, or not. In consent applications, applicants do not have the authority to provide an opinion, meaning decision makers only hear expert evidence from the Te Ao Maori expert with no alternative counter position. Consent decisions are often influenced by this imbalance. I support Option 1.”
Then for Q7.
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’ Rebalancing will ensure both applicants and stakeholders can present evidence to an application and decision makers can hear two sides of the argument.”
Section 2 Part 2.6 Simplifying Wetlands
Q.24
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’ I support the exclusion for human induced wetlands being considered wetlands under the NES-F. I seek that this should apply to ‘primary production’ as defined, rather than just for farming activities, for example mining and quarrying are primary production and often affected by artificially created wetlands within a paddock of exotic pasture’.
You only need to give your personal details, and the rest of the consultation questions you can leave blank.