Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

Fracking has been banned or suspended in some places elsewhere in the world. We need to
know about the implications of fracking for New Zealand. Either a strengthened EPA or the
PCE would be well placed to inquire into it.
Labour will initiate an inquiry into fracking as a matter of priority.
Lignite
New Zealand‟s lignite resources are immense but the environmental case against largescale
lignite use is overwhelming.
Labour does not support the mining of lignite, and its conversion to liquid fuels using current
technologies, because of the high volume of greenhouse gases produced.
Solid Energy, an SOE, wants to mine lignite deposits in Southland for this purpose. This
would increase our national greenhouse gas emissions bill by at least 20%.
Labour does not support government capital, through an SOE, being invested into lignite
development unless and until the resulting carbon emissions can be captured and stored
economically and permanently. This technology is currently experimental, and unlikely to be
practical in the foreseeable future.
Labour will therefore direct Solid Energy not to proceed with its liquid fuels lignite
mining proposal.
Even if offsets were available by way of tree planting (which would require huge plantings),
Labour would not approve this or other Solid Energy lignite mining proposals that are
greenhouse gas intensive. Only emission capture at source and effective permanent storage
would be acceptable to Labour.
Any other new lignite processing would face the full cost of its greenhouse gas emissions
under the ETS. Otherwise, this cost would unfairly fall on other sectors of the community or
on taxpayers.
Mining of other minerals
Many products of mining are central to our way of life – in the vehicles we drive, the houses
we live in, and the communications and other technologies we all rely upon.
Labour will not allow mining on high value conservation land, nor allow Solid Energy to mine
lignite for liquid fuels. However, it is in New Zealand‟s economic interest that we mine our
own valuable minerals, in appropriate areas, rather than importing them. That is provided
environmental impacts can be, and are, appropriately mitigated under the Resource
Management Act 1991 and the Crown Minerals Act 1991 (CMA).
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