Todd McClay - Economic Development

8 October 2019

A decision to overturn a ban on the expansion of the Waihi Gold Mine shows that the Government’s land and environment policies are in disarray and that Eugenie Sage is not capable of being the Land Information Minister, National’s Economic Development spokesperson Todd McClay says.

“Eugenie Sage has repeatedly let her Green Party ideology get in the way of making good decisions. The decision to override her is a vote of no confidence in the Greens and shows how unstable the coalition is.

“Ms Sage declined the expansion of the Waihi mine saying it was ‘inherently unsustainable, will increase emissions, and will provide only moderate employment benefits relative to winding down the operation and remediating the site’.

“Now that the Waihi Mine expansion has been agreed, Ms Sage must now remove her objections to the West Coast Hydro Scheme and let this project go ahead also.

“It’s no wonder business confidence is so low under this Government. This application should never have been turned down. The Government has an incoherent plan for economic development. The inconsistencies in decisions means businesses need a crystal ball to have any idea what the Government will do.

“National would make rational decisions, bring back certainty to businesses and inject confidence back into the business sector. The Prime Minister needs to show some leadership and take this portfolio off the Greens.”

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