Political Will
Political will – a resource in short supply

The New Zealand minerals industry produces more than 50 million tonnes of minerals a year, but there is one resource that has been in particularly short supply – political will, NZMIA Chief Executive Doug Gordon says.

“We just can’t mine enough of that,” he said. “There is so much more that could be achieved for New Zealand with a more favourable and committed political and policy environment. We need a central government champion for the country's natural resources.

“Perhaps some of it is residual environmental concerns from the past – and old views that still survive. However, the reality today is that the minerals and energy industries are fully committed to environmental sustainability and act accordingly.

“The industry knows that to be acceptable to society, this is the only way to operate,” Mr Gordon said.

Citing The Natural Resource Potential of New Zealand, a report on the country’s mineral wealth and potential produced by leading consultant geologist Richard Barker this year, Mr Gordon said he agreed with Mr Barker’s conclusion that much more could and should be done to better tap into the country’s minerals, coal, oil and gas potential.

“The report is absolutely correct when it concludes that the investment environment for exploration in New Zealand is not attractive,” Mr Gordon said.

The report cites Canada’s Fraser Institute, an independent educational and research organisation, recently ranking New Zealand’s policy environment at just 44th of 68 countries, and behind all the Australian states and Canadian provinces.

“The bottom line is that these are our direct competitors in the international marketplace and we are starting behind the eight-ball because of a policy environment and framework that doesn’t support our industry’s development,” Mr Gordon said.

Peter Atkinson, a director of leading gold exploration company Heritage Gold New Zealand Ltd, agreed.

“The industry needs and deserves a more supportive policy environment. This sector has so much potential to contribute more to New Zealand’s economy, but it is being held back.” Mr Atkinson said.

“It is not asking for the unreasonable – we simply want a situation where obstacles are removed; where there is greater incentive to explore. Today, overcoming unnecessarily tough bureaucracy, rules and regulations means that many exploration endeavours are put in the ‘too hard’ basket and explorers go elsewhere to invest.

“That is a tragedy for New Zealand. That is lost potential,” he said.

The Natural Resource Potential of New Zealand report identified a number of key obstacles to the New Zealand industry’s growth.

These included fragmented government administration and management; complexity and uncertainty around minerals ownership; access issues under the Crown Minerals Act; energy policy that creates uncertainty and discriminates against coal and gas; and an uncompetitive investment environment compared to other developed countries.

“This all adds up to a situation where we could achieve so much more if government would clear the obstacles and assist, rather than hinder. And unfortunately, for far too long, government has been an obstacle to growth in this sector,” Mr Atkinson said.

The key, as identified by the report, is top-level recognition of the real and potential value of the resource, and a concerted move to give its management and development a higher priority.