John McLean: Yet Another Perfectly Innocent Mistake......(Not)

NZ's Department of Conservation pleads guilty to a lesser crime

On 5 June 2025, the Department of Conservation (DoC) declined a mining company’s application for a resource consent to expand an existing gold mining operation - by a moderate 6 hectares.

The company is OceanaGold. The mine is Macraes mine near Dunedin. Macraes, which opened in 1990, is New Zealand’s largest gold mine.

Kerre Woodham: As Shane Jones says, do we want lizards or jobs?

Lizards living near the Macraes gold mine in Central Otago run the very real risk of becoming lizard skin boots on the feet of Resources Minister Shane Jones. The self-described Matua is on the warpath because hundreds of workers are at risk of being laid off after a decision by the Department of Conservation to reject an application by the country's largest gold mine owner.