WAIHI COMMUNITY CONSULTATION COMMITTEE
Minutes of meeting held at Salvation Army Hall, Seddon St Waihi, Monday 21 July 2003.
The fourth meeting of the Waihi Community Consultation Committee (WCCC) was held on Monday 21 July 2003. The turnout was excellent with an attendance of 33 people including committee members, advisors and general public.
PRESENT
Collette Spalding, Norm Schwarz, Kathy Mason, Doreen McLeod, Bronwyn Wightman, Tessa McKenzie, Clare Mewse, Barry Maughan, Rex Dillimore, Steve Moore, Eric Lens, Ruth Ordish, Don Lockwood, Rob Martinson, Councillor Sel Baker, Tuihana Cunningham, Mark Samson, Homer Stubbs
APOLOGIES
John McIver, Mayor Basil Morrison, Keith Trembath, Dave Ingle, Rod Lawrence, Langley Cavers..
OTHER ATTENDEES
Güenter Bobsien, Keith Brodie, Gail Henry, Ollie Richardson, Dennis Crequer, Kit Wilson, Andy Hatton, Natalie Leach, Donna Fisher, Paul Harden, Adriaan van Kersen, Gary Paterson, Kevin Rogan, Morrie Gilmore, Mark Daniels.
MEETING OPEN
Meeting opened at 7:05 pm.
1. Update - what has happened since our last meeting (contributions from all)
As per our previous meeting we asked what had developed since the last meeting that was relevant to the work of the Consultation Committee. The two matters raised were the collapse of the No 7 shaft in the mine and the capping of the shaft that opened in Kenny Street being worked on.
2. Updates from the various working groups.
At the meeting on 7 July 2003 the committee agreed to some smaller working groups to collect and produce information in the various subject areas for consideration by the full committee. The areas for consideration are;
- Tourism Opportunities (Branding) / Mine experience – Rod Lawrence, Barry Maughan (assisted by Kit Wilson and Gail Henry).
- Business, Investment and Employment Opportunities– Bronwyn Wightman.
- Recreational Opportunities – Steve Moore.
- Educational Opportunities – (Develop facility, centre of excellence) – Barry Maughan (assisted by Kit Wilson).
- Social Development – Tessa McKenzie
- Environmental Development – Kathy Mason, Ruth Ordish.
- General Issues / Current effects – Collette Spalding, Rex Dillimore.
The Education and Recreation groups had the opportunity to present their initial information.
Education:
Barry Maughan and Kit Wilson had worked on an initial draft of ideas outlining education possibilities that come from the rehabilitation planning. Their report is attached to these minutes. (Click here)
Barry explained that there was further consultation to be carried out with Iwi, local Marae and the education sector and that he and Kit will work further on this. Barry said they would appreciate any ideas from others.
Recreation:
Steve Moore had put some initial work into the recreation possibilities that the rehabilitation process might provide for. These include:
Abseiling
Running track
Yachting
Flying fox
Kayaking
Picnic / BBQ areas
BMX
Hang gliding
Rock climbing
Fitness track
Rowing
Cable car
Natural amphitheatre
New sporting venues
Mountain bike
Swimming
Walking tracks
Water sports
Paddle boats
Jet sprinting
Lakeside conferences
Cycling
Horse trekking.
Outdoor ed / heritage combined
Steve will continue to manage and present information re further opportunities.
3. Information Required
The other focus for the committee is the gathering of information to provide the committee with ideas, background and data from which future proposals can be developed.
Information Presented
At this meeting we had the opportunity to hear about:
Pit Rehabilitation
The committee had asked NWO for information around how the “lake” option for rehabilitation had been arrived at in the Company’s original proposals. The committee also wanted an indication of the water quality of the lake if it is the option finally decided upon. Kathy Mason gave a presentation which is attached to the hard copy of these minutes and will be available at the meeting for collection by those who receive their minutes by email. (We did not want to clutter people’s emails with such a huge document). (Appendix 3)
Kathy gave some examples of similar projects where the rehabilitation had been successful and explained why the sort of pollution that had occurred in one particular overseas lake would not be repeated in the case of the Martha Pit lake.
Regulatory Issues from the Regional Council perspective
Recommendations made by the WCCC must ultimately fit within the requirements of the Regional and District Councils. Dennis Crequer of Environment Waikato gave a presentation regarding the historical and current regulatory framework to clarify those parameters for the Committee members.
Dennis explained the regulatory history of the Martha Mine, the Rehabilitation/Closure Plan and how it fits with current requirements, and the Post-Closure Trust (The Martha Trust) which has been set up to care for the rehabilitated area into the future. Dennis’ presentation is also attached to these minutes. (Click here)
4. Future information to be provided
The committee discussed further requirements for information and it was agreed that:
ÿ There will be a familiarisation tour of the mine for the committee on Wednesday 30 July 2003.
ÿ Historic Places Trust will make a presentation to the committee regarding “heritage” possibilities.
ÿ There will be a tour of Union Hill.
ÿ We will discuss further whether the committee wants to hear more about the peer review process.
ÿ A Cultural Heritage Assessment currently being undertaken is due end of August.
5. Other matters arising from the previous meeting
(i) We decided that the required quorum for any meeting where voting is necessary is 12 committee members.
(ii) We have yet to decide on the voting criteria, whether “Majority” means 51%, or 75% or somewhere in between, and whether that is a percentage is a proportion of the whole committee or just of those present.
Next Meeting
The next two committee meetings are set for 4 August and 18 August 2003 at 7.00 p.m. at the Salvation Army Hall in Seddon Street Waihi.
Meeting closed at 9:40 pm
Tim and Sharon
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