A Wanaka geologist has come out arguing that the government's numbers are overstated as to the mineral potential of NZ, or at least the potential of Stewart Island. This does not surprise me at all. The reason I think the government is pushing for mining has less to do with the desire to see mining in these areas, and more to do with the desire to encourage exploration so that the government actually knows if there are minerals in the country.
Most particularly, the government needs to encourage more energy exploration. What happens on land is actually less important than at sea. NZ needs energy - particularly gas, and it needs to substitute imports with local product. I think the government purely wants to convey that it is pro-mining, after all who wants to explore in a country which is so anti-mining.
The idea that 100% NZ was always a brand which was intended to attract tourists. The reality is that whilst NZ has some terrific landscapes, the urban areas of NZ are very untidy. There is lot of rubbish in NZ. People discard there rubbish indulgently. I often see people throwing rubbish from cars, kids coming home from the pub or friends leave bottles in the street, or worse break them on the pathways. There is a lot of this, though of course some areas are worse than others.
I don't see this in Australia, which I truly think is 96% pure.....if you excuse the mass clearing of trees on the tablelands 100 years ago.
But consider this about Australia:
1. Half of Tasmania is a national park or wilderness
2. Half the coast of NSW is national park
3. Most of the ACT is national park
4. The bulk of the Snowy Mountains is national park
5. The Great Barrier Reef is national park
6. Sydney Harbour is a national park - you can readily eat the fish caught in it
7. Sydney is surrounded by national park - almost completely surrounding it. You can view for 30-40km in some directions its so big
8. Cape York - 'the dog ears' of Australia is national park
In NZ, they have dairy effluent going into the rivers. The forest is really only confined to the ranges whilst all the flats are farming land. The only place where there is really unmodified land use is the West Coast, Alpine areas, Fiordland, and some of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. It is a smaller country, but is the "100% pure NZ" reputation justified based on the facts. Of course it makes clever marketing.
In fairness NZ is a very beautiful country...perhaps the country can do with fewer puritans. I prefer Australian nature in many respects because the walking trails are actually shorter and better suited for tourists. In NZ it is all a bit undeveloped and walking trails tend to be for the overnight hikers. I'd like to see more of NZ opened up for the tourist to actually enjoy it rather than simply drive by. Of course if tourists are so utterly inconsiderate of other tourists, maybe such plans need to await a better quality of human being.
The paradox is that Australia produces so much mineral wealth from mining, but it utilises less than 3% of its area for mining, and thats just based on mining title, not actual mining area. Despite that it has such large tracts of wilderness. The country is so large you would likely never see a mine site. The bad news is that its all so spread out. NZ, you can drive around and see it all in two weeks. You'd never see a mine there either. Why the worry? Well its mostly government hype because they want to encoureage exploration. It was probably an electoral promise. Now they can take the campaign contributions with a clear conscience.
Most particularly, the government needs to encourage more energy exploration. What happens on land is actually less important than at sea. NZ needs energy - particularly gas, and it needs to substitute imports with local product. I think the government purely wants to convey that it is pro-mining, after all who wants to explore in a country which is so anti-mining.
The idea that 100% NZ was always a brand which was intended to attract tourists. The reality is that whilst NZ has some terrific landscapes, the urban areas of NZ are very untidy. There is lot of rubbish in NZ. People discard there rubbish indulgently. I often see people throwing rubbish from cars, kids coming home from the pub or friends leave bottles in the street, or worse break them on the pathways. There is a lot of this, though of course some areas are worse than others.
I don't see this in Australia, which I truly think is 96% pure.....if you excuse the mass clearing of trees on the tablelands 100 years ago.
But consider this about Australia:
1. Half of Tasmania is a national park or wilderness
2. Half the coast of NSW is national park
3. Most of the ACT is national park
4. The bulk of the Snowy Mountains is national park
5. The Great Barrier Reef is national park
6. Sydney Harbour is a national park - you can readily eat the fish caught in it
7. Sydney is surrounded by national park - almost completely surrounding it. You can view for 30-40km in some directions its so big
8. Cape York - 'the dog ears' of Australia is national park
In NZ, they have dairy effluent going into the rivers. The forest is really only confined to the ranges whilst all the flats are farming land. The only place where there is really unmodified land use is the West Coast, Alpine areas, Fiordland, and some of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. It is a smaller country, but is the "100% pure NZ" reputation justified based on the facts. Of course it makes clever marketing.
In fairness NZ is a very beautiful country...perhaps the country can do with fewer puritans. I prefer Australian nature in many respects because the walking trails are actually shorter and better suited for tourists. In NZ it is all a bit undeveloped and walking trails tend to be for the overnight hikers. I'd like to see more of NZ opened up for the tourist to actually enjoy it rather than simply drive by. Of course if tourists are so utterly inconsiderate of other tourists, maybe such plans need to await a better quality of human being.
The paradox is that Australia produces so much mineral wealth from mining, but it utilises less than 3% of its area for mining, and thats just based on mining title, not actual mining area. Despite that it has such large tracts of wilderness. The country is so large you would likely never see a mine site. The bad news is that its all so spread out. NZ, you can drive around and see it all in two weeks. You'd never see a mine there either. Why the worry? Well its mostly government hype because they want to encoureage exploration. It was probably an electoral promise. Now they can take the campaign contributions with a clear conscience.
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