The government has announced 149 projects it is putting forward in Schedule 2 of its Fast Track process, with Siren Gold’s application for Sam’s Creek thankfully not included on this initial list.
This is encouraging news, but certainly not yet time for a sigh of relief or getting complacent. Despite not having been pre-approved, there’s nothing stopping Siren or others from applying again once the Fast Track bill is passed later this year.
As Julie Downard of SCC says, the biggest risk right now is people thinking the danger had passed, while the threat still remained. “Should Siren apply later to be fast-tracked, it would be without the requirement to notify the community, and so we would have no way of knowing whether they had done so.”
Our response to the government’s announcement is covered today by Stuff:
https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/350446359/gold-mines-fast-track-refusal-changes-nothing-opponents
And comment from Siren Gold and our response are featured in today’s front page story in this week’s issue of GB Weekly:
https://issuu.com/charlotterichards3/docs/2024_october11gbweekly
“Given that 4000 tonnes of reactive arsenic tailings sitting above or near a marble aquifer of global significance is taking a gamble with our water, we won’t be taking our foot off the pedal,” says Julie.
