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After the Government’s back down last year on opening national parks to mining, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson and Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said, significant applications to mine on public conservation land should be publicly notified.

Forest and Bird Top of the South field officer Debs Martin said her organisation had been trying to get Ms Wilkinson to follow through on this promise since August.

It seemed disingenuous to wait until the first working day after the election to confirm that there would be no public consultation, said Ms Martin.

“It seems that they held out until after the election because they didn’t want any publicity on it.”

In essence Ms Wilkinson’s letter to Forest and Bird yesterday had said that as there was currently no legal requirement to consult the public on the mine, The Government would not do so, she said.

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Ms Martin said that although public notification wasn’t a legal requirement there was nothing stopping the minister seeking it.

The Crown Minerals Act said the minister could take any relevant matters into account when granting mine access, said Ms Martin.

Given that Denniston was on public conservation land, had created high public interest and would be the largest mine operating on conservation land in New Zealand, the public’s view was relevant for the minister to consider, she said.

It’s a priority site for biodiversity protection and the largest mine operating on public conservation land. What could be more significant than that?

Forest and Bird advocate Nicola Vallance said Denniston, with its wide range of threatened native plants and animals, belonged to all New Zealanders and was held in trust for them for future generations.

The public was being shut out of standing up for their natural heritage, she said.