Concern over mining, iwi interests as key Golden Bay sites excluded from draft plan

Monday, 6 March 2017

The distinctive domed summit of Mount Burnett in the Wakamarama ranges near Collingwood can be seen from much of the Western side of Golden Bay.

Environmentalists are questioning if iwi and mining interests saw three outstanding features excluded from a long-awaited draft plan to protect Golden Bay's most beautiful landscapes.

Mount Burnett near Collingwood, Sam's Creek in the Cobb Valley and the remote Te Tai Tapu Block on Golden Bay's south-west coast were left out of the Tasman District Council's final Outstanding Natural Landscapes and Features draft report.

An area of Sam's Creek in the Cobb Valley that will be excluded from the landscape plan.

The three areas are all part of the Northwest Nelson Forest Park and are subject to mining permits.

Public submissions released in February revealed an overwhelming desire to protect the three areas and have them included.

Forest and Bird Regional Manager Debs Martin said they were amongst the most beautiful places in Golden Bay.

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'Mount Burnett is part of the striking Wakamarama ranges. For many people, they identify it with coming home.'

Te Tai Tapu Block was an integral part of the stunning, vast wilderness of the Northwest coast, she said.

'And you only have to get into the steep gorge area of Sam's Creek to see you're in an incredible place that so many locals and tourists really value.'

A small working group representing key stakeholders and groups has worked with the council for several years to identify the Bay's most treasured beauty spots.

A July 2015 report released by the working group stated a consensus could not be reached for Mount Burnett, Te Tai Tapu Block and Sam's Creek.

The Tasman District then prepared and released a draft plan for public feedback that omitted the three sites.

Martin, who was on the working group, said the Tasman Resource Management Plan (TRMP) and the Environment Court made it clear it was not allowed to exclude any areas that had been identified as outstanding from its draft plan, because of vested interests.

'All outstanding places should be viewed through the same lens, regardless of whether it's on conservation land, iwi land, private land or is subject to mining,' she said.

Friends of Golden Bay chairman Dr Don Mead was also on the working group.

He said Friends of Golden Bay believed the reasons why the three outstanding areas were left out of the plan were questionable.

'We understand economic, mining or land ownership issues were not to be a part of the identification process for the areas by the small working group, but it is hard not to conjecture that this has been the reason for their exclusion,' he said.

Mount Burnett is a distinctive domed summit that contains a rare outcrop of dolomite rock and unique plant life only found there.

Environmentalist Jo-Anne Vaughan said she was disappointed Mount Burnett was left out of the report.

'It seems ridiculous one of the most outstanding features of Golden Bay should be left out. To me, it is as significant as Farewell Spit,' she said.

Mount Burnett is the site of New Zealand's only commercial quarry of the magnesium-calcium mineral, the quarry is owned by Merv Solly.

Te Tai Tapu Block extends from the South Head Cone of Whanganui Inlet to beyond Big River in the Southern Northwest Coast.

The former Maori occupation reserve was withheld from inclusion in the Kahurangi National Park, while the treaty settlement deeds were under negotiation.

Much of this landscape was subject to historical forestry and mining. Australian gold mining company, Strategic Elements, is applying for consent to explore a large area that includes Te Tai Tapu.

Ngati Tama ki te Tau Ihu spokesperson, John Ward-Holmes, said it was working through the issue with New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals and the Department of Conservation.

'We had a meeting with them last week. We are trying to get the highest level of protection for Te Tai Tapu that we can possibly get,' he said.

Sam's Creek is known as one of New Zealand's biggest undeveloped gold projects. Australian company MOD Resources has spent millions exploring the area.

In a submission it made to the council, it strongly opposed the inclusion of Sam's Creek in the draft landscape plan.

Tasman District Council communications advisor Chris Choat said all the public feedback was taken into consideration by the council, as it looked to form the draft plan for consultation.

'Council did not include those three areas, amongst a number of others, in the draft plan change because the small working group did not make a consensus recommendation for their inclusion,' he said.

'However, we did make reference to those no-consensus locations, along with the other no-consensus locations, in the discussion document.'

He said the three areas were being reviewed and considered.

Friends of Nelson Haven and the Tasman Bay coastal conservation group have been trying to get the areas protected for more than a decade, including taking the TDC to the Environment Court.

The outstanding natural features in the draft plan include Farewell Spit, Aorere and Big River, Paynes Ford and the Tarakohe cliffs.

The outstanding natural landscapes include Abel Tasman, the Parapara-Kahurangi ranges, large stretches of the Southern and Northern Northwest Coast and the Golden Bay-Mohua marine area.