Goff Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Goff Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:665;Page:12432] 
2. 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does he stand by his statement on 9 February that “Notwithstanding the public consultation process it is my expectation that the Government will act on at least some of these recommendations and make significant changes to Schedule 4”? 
Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes and we are continuing with our proposal to add 14 areas totalling 12400 hectares of land to schedule 4. However we have listened carefully to the public’s concern and decided not to take any areas of land out. Instead we are focusing the Government’s effort on assessing New Zealand’s mineral wealth in the areas outside schedule 4. That mineral wealth is likely to be very substantial. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Does the Prime Minister’s change of heart mean that he does not now believe in mining in our national parks and protected schedule 4 areas; if so why did he propose it in the first place? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: Firstly there are a couple of things. The Government has listened to the people of New Zealand who I think on balance have said that they do not want mining on schedule 4 land but they do want expanded mining around the rest of New Zealand in certain parts as long as it is done in an environmentally friendly way; and I support them on that. I might add that Cabinet has always taken the conservative view which is why we whittled down the 467000 hectares recommended by officials to a mere 7000 before we even started the process. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Is it true that the people who recommended to Cabinet with the Prime Minister’s concurrence that 467000 hectares of national park land be mined were Gerry Brownlee and Kate Wilkinson? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: No officials recommended that. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Today naturally is a little robust but I have called the honourable Leader of the Opposition. His colleagues should let him ask his question. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Does the Prime Minister accept the responsibility for putting forward plans to mine our national parks and areas like Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula or does he put the blame on Gerry Brownlee? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: I take responsibility for wanting New Zealand to be a wealthier country and that is exactly what we will be doing by expanding our mining and exploration activities just not in pristine national parks. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: How does the Prime Minister rate the following in terms of his ambition to catch up with Australia and create jobs: his plan to mine in protected national parks his Job Summit the 2025 task force Chinese investment in broadband or New Zealand as a world centre for financial services; and what cloud is he going to jump on next? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: Well I cannot be sure whether I am on cloud but I know that the Leader of the Opposition is in a hole from the latest polls we have seen. Talking of digging things up the only place he will be safe is in a pristine national park because that is the only place where he cannot dig a hole for himself. The member will have to wait and see—plenty of those things are coming. 
Rahui Katene 
: Was he aware of the statement by the chairman of Ngati Rehua Rawiri Wharemate that the Government failed to warn the hapu about its plans to commence mining on Great Barrier Island and what influence did iwi opposition have in the decision not to remove any land from schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: It is my understanding that Gerry Brownlee had a hui on Great Barrier Island with the iwi and their views were a factor in the Government’s decision.