Kerre Woodham: Rejecting the Waihi gold mine project would've made no sense

You can take the girl out of Waihi, but you can't take the Waihi out of the girl, I tell you. 

News that Oceana Gold's Waihi North project has been approved makes good sense, as far as I'm concerned. The permit that was confirmed yesterday guarantees the securing of 350 existing jobs, the creation of 100 plus new roles, the project to be in operation until at least 2042, so that gives some continuity, some certainty, which is fantastic, and a billion-dollar investment from Oceana Gold. 

Now, having lived there for five years when I was growing up, gold is a huge part of who Waihi was and is. It was also a really strong union town as well. Gold was first discovered in Waihi in 1878 and by 1905, Waihi not only possessed the most productive gold mine in New Zealand, but was the third largest inland town in New Zealand because of the gold. You had the 1912 Waihi miners' strike. That was a six-month pitched battle that ended in violence and a miner killed by police, and shaped New Zealand politics for the next 60 odd years. And that's very much a part of the town. It's a gold mining town, it's a working town. It's a beautiful town. 

The Martha Mine was and is living proof that there is gold in them there hills. The Martha Mine extracted 174 tons of gold, and the total district surrounding district, there was more than 31 million pound in gold value in the old currency from 1882 to 1954. So this is an area that has been mined for more than 100 years and is a community that knows mining, that is mining. When Dad was the bank manager in Waihi, I'm pretty sure, and it's not me making things up, but memory is an unreliable witness, I used to work in the bank in the school holidays and there were gold ingots in there, and that was fascinating, in the vaults, like you see in the cartoons. 

So this is an area that knows mining and for any kind of permit to be denied, it would make no sense whatsoever. 

Anti-mining activists have their place, and nobody wants to see pristine conservation parks torn up and destroyed, but that's not modern mining anyway. Even if they were to go into a conservation park, you don't tear it up and destroy it. That's not how you mine these days. As Oceana Gold president and CEO Gerard Bond says on the Heather Du Plessis-Allan show this morning, it shows that the new fast-track consenting process is working well. 

GB: I think New Zealand has the best development permitting system globally presently. It's rigorous. It is difficult to get something permitted anywhere in the world, and New Zealand is no different. Our application was substantial. We did a lot of work, but the great thing about this process is that it's done in a timely way. 

GB: New Zealand leapt up the mining attractiveness index in a annual global survey this year already off the base basis of that legislation being passed, and I think our success will further solidify New Zealand as a place that you can do business in. 

HDPA: Part of the problem in New Zealand though is attitudes towards mining. Do you think that's changing? 

GB: Well, we have tremendous support where we mine from local communities, and I understand during the course of last year, we saw the public support for mining has improved dramatically in New Zealand. And I think that's because people see that we do it safely, we do it responsibly, have done so for 35 years, and will continue to do so. And this is an industry that generates real high-paying jobs that are very, very productive. So, I'd like to think that New Zealanders would welcome the fact that they have a a robust mining industry. 

So, yes. I just simply cannot see the problem. Had the permit been denied, it would have made no sense whatsoever. And those who do live in towns where there are where mining is an industry, do well. You know, people have good jobs. They're not subsistence jobs, they're not service jobs, they're not tourism jobs depending on the season. They are all year-round jobs. I think we've got so hung up on mining and it's like the no nukes movement. It becomes a badge of pride to wear your I'm an anti-mining activist badge next to your pounamu without doing any kind of rational thought about it. Again, it's that kind of you're either in my tribe or you're not. 

I support mining in Waihi for the reasons as outlined. Do I support it everywhere? No, but then they're not asking to mine everywhere. 

Do I want conservation parks kept pristine? Yes, I do. 

Do I want all of New Zealand kept like that? No. 

So, I would really love to hear from those people who live on the West Coast, who live in Waihi, who live i

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the carrywood of morning's podcast from News Talks,
He'd be.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
You can take the girl out of why He, but
you can't take the hy He out of the girl.
I tell you news that Oceana Gold's why He North
project has been approved makes good sense as far as
I'm concerned. The permit that was confirmed yesterday guarantees the
securing of three hundred and fifty existing jobs, the creation
of one hundred plus new rules, the project be in

(00:35):
operation until at least twenty forty two, so that gives
some continuity, some certainty, which is fantastic, and a billion
dollar investment from Oceanna Gold. Now having lived there four
or five years when I was growing up, Gold is
a huge part of who Why He was and is

(00:55):
was also a really strong union town as well. Gold
was first discovered and Why He in eighteen seventy eight,
and by nineteen oh five Why He not only possessed
the most productive gold mine in New Zealand, it was
the third largest inland town in New Zealand. Because of
the gold, you had the nineteen twelve why He miners

(01:18):
strike that was a six month pitched battle that ended
in violence and a miner killed by police and shape
New Zealand politics for the next sixty odd years. And
that's very much a part of the town. It's a
gold mining town, it's a working town. It's a beautiful town.
The Martha Mine was and is living proof that there
is gold in them there hills. The Martha Mine extracted

(01:41):
one hundred and seventy four tons of gold and the
total district surrounding district there was more than thirty one
million pound in gold value in the old currency from
eighteen eighty two to nineteen fifty four. So this is
an area that has been mined for more than one
hundred years and is a community that knows mining, that

(02:03):
is mining. When dad was the bank man in Wayh
I'm pretty sure, and it's not me making things up,
but my memory is an unreliable witness. But I used
to work in the bank and the school holidays and
there were gold ingots in there and that was fascinating
in the vaults like you see in the cartoons. So

(02:25):
this is an area that knows mining and for any
kind of permit to be denied would make no sense whatsoever.
Anti mining activists have their place, and nobody wants to
see pristine conservation parks torn up and destroyed. But that's
not modern mining anyway. Even if they were clutch your

(02:46):
panamu and call yourself appalled. Even if they were to
go into a conservation park, you don't tear it up
and destroy it. That's not how you mine these days.
As Oceana Gold president and Ceoji at Bond says on
the Heather Duplessia Allen Show this morning, it shows that
the new fast Trek consenting process is working well.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
I think New Zealand has the best development permitting system
globally presently. It's rigorous. It is difficult to get something
permitted anywhere in the world, and New Zealand is no different.
Our application was substantial, We did a lot of work,
but the great thing about this process is that it's
done in a timely way. New Zealand leapt up the

(03:31):
mining attractiveness index in an annual global survey this year,
already off the basis of that legislation being passed, and
I think our success will further solidify New Zealand as
a place that you can do business.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
In part of the problem in New Zealand those attitudes
towards mining do you think that's changing.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, we have tremendous support where we mine from local
communities and I understand during the course of last year
we saw that public support for mining has improved dramatically
in New Zealand. And I think that's because people see
that we do it safely, we do it response. We
have done so for thirty five years and will continue
to do so. And it's this is an industry that

(04:13):
generates real, high paying jobs that are very, very productive.
So I'd like to think that New Zealanders would welcome
the fact that they have a robust mining industry.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
So yeah, like I just simply cannot see the problem.
Had the permit been denied, it would have made no
sense whatsoever. And those who do live in towns where
we're mining as an industry do well. People have good jobs.
They're not subsistence jobs, they're not service jobs, they're not

(04:46):
tourism jobs depending on the season. They are all year
round jobs. I think we've got so hung up on
mining and that it's like the no Nukes movement. It
becomes a badge of pride to where you I'm an
anti mining activist badge. Next year PAMU without doing any

(05:09):
kind of rational thought about it. Again, it's that kind
of you're either in my tribe or you're not. I
support mining, and why he for the reasons as outlined.
Do I support it everywhere? No, but then they're not
asking to mine everywhere. Do I want conservation parks kept pristine?

Speaker 3 (05:38):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (05:38):
I do. Do I want all of New Zealand kept
like that? No? So I would really love to hear
from those people who live on the West coast, who
live in he who live in areas where there are mines,
you can actually grow up in and around the mines,
and there is still beautiful, lush green land. There are

(06:01):
still native birds, but there's also a thriving industry that
provide ads well paid jobs to men and women who
would otherwise have to go to Australia to get them.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
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