Disgruntled Goldminers Offered Consents Workshop

Wednesday, 7 May 2025, 7:35 pm
Article: Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter

Gold miners and their agents will be invited to a workshop to help them with applications for resource consents, the West Coast Regional Council has decided.

The use of North Island consultants to process West Coast water-use consents for alluvial gold mine sites came under attack at Tuesday’s meeting of the council’s Resource Management Committee.

Councillor Allan Birchfield, a goldminer himself, said applications were being held up or declined by consultants in Wellington who were delaying and over-complicating the consent process.

“They don’t know the area … they’re coming back with stupid questions, like the size of the water pumps – it needs to be brought back in house, it’s out of control,“ Councillor Birchfield said.

Alluvial goldmining had been going on for 40 years on the West Coast, and the effects were well known, he said.

“You are wanting to reinvent the wheel. You should have a very standard application and conditions ... a very simple form.”

The council’s regulatory manager Jo Field said the council was using consultants to process consents for several reasons, including the need to up-skill new staff and applicants on what was expected of them.

One staff member had been away overseas, and it was standard practice for councils to use consultants at peak times, to process consents, she said.

The council has made a conscious decision to defer or decline consents with incomplete information upfront, she said.

"We are trying to become a modern regulatory organisation and … this is part of that, being really clear upfront about what information is required.”

The council had been in the process of updating its forms, in consultation with Poutini Ngai Tahu, Ms Field said.

“We actually invited a number of consultants to come and hear about our new approach and forms and they chose not to attend.”

(The consultants Ms Field was referring to in this case are agents who submit resource consent applications on behalf of miners.)

Mr Birchfield said when he had begun with the council one experienced person had dealt with all the consent and compliance issues.

“It was so simple then. I think we’ve gone backwards – we’ve got all these people making it too complicated, it’s got to go back to that – simple and effective.”

But Cr Chris Coll said the old Catchment Board days were prior to the Resource Management Act.

The council had an open invitation on its website for applicants to come in and talk to staff about resource consent requirements before applying, he said.

“I think it behoves the miners …and their agents to move with the times and try and upskill themselves too.”

A worskshop to bring all parties together would be helpful, Cr Coll said.

Ngati Waewae representative Francois Tumahai said a good starting place would be to agree on a joint set of conditions for alluvial gold mining.

“Allan’s made some good points, but also I agree we’ve come a long way since those days and we actually have to change the way we think and operate. But I’m sure we can keep to a middle ground by making it more stream-lined.”

WCRC chief executive Darryl Lew agreed.

“We need to find a collaborative way through here, and we can do that. There are three parties, the council, there’s Poutini Ngai Tahu and there’s the miners and we need to get into a workshop like we did the other week which was highly successful.”

Consultants acting for the miners, who had declined to come to a previous workshop were also part of that picture, Mr Lew said.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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