Mining Conservation land was a joke looking for a punchline

The brilliant Gordon Campbell at Scoop...

In addition, Brownlee lazily never got on top of the alleged economic benefits that might, repeat might have accrued from the mining activities in the regions being proposed. As Forest and Bird Research was readily able to point out, the $194 billion figure that he and his officials originally cited for the exercise was an estimate for the entire Schedule Four category – and before any cost of extraction, any diversion of profits to foreign mining companies or any offsetting impact on our tourism industry was taken into account. In press conferences, Brownlee could never get his figures convincingly straight, or mount a compelling argument. As a public relations exercise, his was a failure of BP proportions.

...it never made any sense did it? You might recall that Gerry had used his magical mystery mining money machine to claim that there was $54 billion of minerals in the Coromandel (a tactic the Pentagon hilariously took up by claiming Trillions in Afghanistan). I claimed that after all the bullshit promises of billions under dem der hills, we would all find out the actual revenue would be a pittance and we would turn to Gerry asking where our cow was and he would excitedly inform us he’s swapped it for some magic beans.

Yeah well what do we get out of the $54 billion to desecrate conservation land on the Coromandel? Over ten years? 1 Billion dollars. That’s barely $100 million per year for a decade and far less than the $54 billion valuation insinuated isn’t it?

But it wasn't just the over egging of the actual money we would receive for destroying our clean green brand, it was also the vast over valuations taken from mining industry lobbyists and it was the lying about the amount of land that would be used with a failed Eden Park postcard analogy.

National NEVER intended to mine anywhere near Auckland (Nicky Kaye has to keep the Central Auckland Green voters happy who lent their support to her instead of Tizard) and we see that strategy paying off now as National try to smokescreen their latest mining plans...

Northland, West Coast mining still on cards
Northland and the West Coast will be explored for minerals, despite the Government backing down on plans to mine pristine parts of the conservation estate in the Coromandel, Paparoa and on Great Barrier Island. A magnetic aerial survey in Northland and the West Coast was given the go-ahead by the cabinet today, said Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee and it is "highly likely" that more mining will happen.

...National told the mining industry in 2006 that they intended to mine conservation land, but didn't mention it to the public in the 2008 election, the reality is that the cheque from the mining industry has cleared and National have to give the industry something for their support, hence the ongoing surveys.

What a political humiliation for National and final proof that Gerry Brownlee is secretly a deep undercover agent for the Greens.