1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,080
Speaker 1: New Zealand First's mining policy hits all the right notes,

2
00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,920
Speaker 1: but ultimately it's not really worth the paper it's written on.

3
00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:08,800
Speaker 1: And I'll tell you why. On the whole Kiwis I

4
00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:11,200
Speaker 1: don't think mind a bit of mining on the whole,

5
00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,240
Speaker 1: so long as there are good jobs to be had.

6
00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:15,840
Speaker 1: It's in the right place. I preferly not in the

7
00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,040
Speaker 1: middle of Milford Sound. Last year the government took in

8
00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,440
Speaker 1: more than two hundred and fifty million bucks in royalties

9
00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,520
Speaker 1: alone from mining. But there was a poll we spoke

10
00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:27,920
Speaker 1: about this pole just a few weeks ago on the program.

11
00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,040
Speaker 1: Half of voters don't think that we get a good

12
00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:35,240
Speaker 1: enough deal, a fair enough return from those mining companies.

13
00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,240
Speaker 1: So to fat pacify this problem, New Zealand First wants

14
00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,240
Speaker 1: to give half the royalties back to the regions where

15
00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,640
Speaker 1: the resources come from. It might get them blue collar

16
00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,320
Speaker 1: votes on the coast, but it won't fix the big

17
00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,400
Speaker 1: problem we have, which is investor confidence. If you're an

18
00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:54,000
Speaker 1: international player with options and a world in front of you,

19
00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:59,400
Speaker 1: the disruption, the civil disobedience, the political uncertainty on display

20
00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:03,640
Speaker 1: here don't go unnoticed. It's all very well having these

21
00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,000
Speaker 1: pro mining policies and fast tracks. But if they the

22
00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,880
Speaker 1: threat of a Labor Greens government hangs over your permits,

23
00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,679
Speaker 1: what are they really worth? Prospectors have just been given

24
00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:18,400
Speaker 1: a reminder of this in New South Wales, a state

25
00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,399
Speaker 1: that was built on coal. Despite it being one of

26
00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,720
Speaker 1: the state's top exports twenty three billion in exports, twenty

27
00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,880
Speaker 1: four thousand jobs, two point seven billion in royalties, the

28
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,039
Speaker 1: Labor government there is banning new mines. Sound familiar, much

29
00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,920
Speaker 1: like the Labour Greens Just Transition for jobs in Taranaki.

30
00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,679
Speaker 1: Labour New South Wales has invented the Future Jobs and

31
00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,720
Speaker 1: Investment Authority to magic up replacement roles for miners in

32
00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,880
Speaker 1: the Hunter Central West Coast, Illawarra and Northwest. You'll remember

33
00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,440
Speaker 1: how well that went for us here in New Zealand,

34
00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,680
Speaker 1: the Just Transition. The irony of all of this is

35
00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:01,000
Speaker 1: that the Workers' Union doesn't like it. They've called out

36
00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:06,240
Speaker 1: Labour's move and here that's led to them backing parties,

37
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,839
Speaker 1: probably like New Zealand first on the coast. Ultimately, it's

38
00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:13,080
Speaker 1: all rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Because to

39
00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,640
Speaker 1: have jobs you need investment. To have investment, you need certainty,

40
00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:21,880
Speaker 1: and to have certainty you need bipartisanship, which we don't have.

41
00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,000
Speaker 1: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live

42
00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,160
Speaker 1: to News Talks at B from five am weekdays, or

43
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,120
Speaker 1: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio