Dean Jacqui: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Dean Jacqui: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 24 March 2010. Volume:661;Page:9779. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) 
: 
 What is it about a stocktake of New Zealand’s mineral resources that brings on such hysteria amongst people? I have here a membership drive on behalf of Labour’s mates the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society that makes some pretty extraordinary claims. In this broadsheet it says “Dear Ms Dean. Help us stop the mining of our precious national parks. Shockingly New Zealand’s national parks are under threat of mining.” It goes on to say: “Imagine huge diggers like the one pictured above”—and I will be tabling this document for the benefit of the House—“removing a majestic mountain in Mt Aspiring National Park … bucket-load by bucket-load”. It continues: “If these landscapes are destroyed forever all the millions of native plants and creatures living there will suffer the same fate.” Come on! “From the slow-moving giant snails to the raucous kaka—all will disappear.” I ask Forest and Bird whether that is what will really happen. I will give members one final quote from this attempt to secure my membership of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Table it. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: I will be tabling it. It says: “We will do everything in our power to fight to keep these special places safe from mining companies”. 
But is this the reality? I do not think it is and I will tell members why. For example Rio Tinto has had a major impact on the Kakapo Recovery Programme. That is not news; that is well known to people even to Labour’s mates such as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. Rio Tinto gifted 80 hectares of land to the public as part of its Kakapo Recovery Programme and has injected well over $3 million into the Kakapo Recovery Programme since it first signed the agreement in 1990. Does New Zealand need to be protected from that? I do not think that it does. The funding has helped to support breeding programmes and population monitoring of the critically endangered parrot on predator-proof sanctuaries. Just over 50 birds remained when the partnership was first signed in 1990. Rio Tinto the mining company has helped to boost bird numbers to the current figure of 123 birds. I do not see those figures in this somewhat unbalanced fact sheet. 
The Solid Energy goat control programme—that is pest control by Solid Energy—was an initiative driven by Solid Energy to provide funding for a 5-year carbon research programme involving 20000 hectares of goat-infested native forest near Mokihinui on the West Coast. Far from New Zealand needing protection from mining companies and people doing everything in their power to fight to keep these special places safe from mining companies we should be thanking them. We should be encouraging the mining companies in their ongoing efforts to rehabilitate our environment. This Government believes that economic development can and does go hand in hand with the environmental protection that I have just talked about. 
I will to focus on a mining operation in my own region of Otaga. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: The “o” was mined out. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: Otago—an electorate called Waitaki which is bigger than the Otago region and also encompasses some of Canterbury. I will talk about the mining operation of Oceana Gold whose Macraes goldmine employs 600 people. That is a lot of people employed in the Otago region. Its annual wage bill is between $30 million and $40 million. Most of that money is reinvested into the communities of Macraes Oamaru Palmerston Waikouaiti and Dunedin. As for Oceana Gold’s expenditure in the district it purchases reagents and goods and services to the tune of $50 million a year. If we have a look at the multiplier effect of 3:1 or 4:1 we see that if the mine were to close Otago would lose 2000 jobs. That is a significant impact in the Otago region. That is a significant impact brought around by a mining operation. 
I seek leave to table this document from the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table the document— 
Hon Members 
: What is it? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The document the member was quoting from during her speech. Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.