WINE AND MP MATCHES

Today starts an occasional series of Wine and MP matches - based on their personalities.

First up - just because we can - Gerry Brownlee. An earthy wine is needed here. Lots of chocolate and tannins. Perhaps not refined as some but connisseurs will see this wine as having longevity.

So it has to be:

Escarpment Martinborough Pinot noir 2008 described by wine taster Sue courtney as

Escarpment Martinborough Pinot Noir 2008 ($45) is a 'district' blend, where grapes from several vineyards are combined. The colour is vibrant, the aromas are rich with chocolate and 'fruit of the forest' and the flavours have Martinborough's characteristic earthy depth. It's savoury to the taste with firm tannins, a hint of spice and dark fruit. This alone is top class wine, but it is not the top of the tier.

We think that Gerry would team this up with a lovely venison dish.

Such as this

Juniper Spiced Cervena Venison Chops

4–8 New Zealand Cervena chops 1 cup red wine 2 medium sized red onions 6 juniper berries, crushed 1 cinnamon stick, crumbled 1 dried bay leaf, crumbled thinly pared strip of orange rind olive oil for brushing salt and fresh ground black pepper Place the Cervena venison chops in a large bowl and pour over the wine. Cut the onions in half crosswise and add them to the bowl. Add the juniper berries, cinnamon, bay leaf, and orange rind. Toss well to coat evenly and then cover the bowl and allow to marinate for about an hour, or overnight. Drain the Cervena venison and onions reserving the marinade, brush them with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on medium-hot barbecue for about 8–10 minutes each side, turning once and basting with the marinade. The Cervena venison should still be slightly pink inside. Serves 4 Serves 4.

GOLDEN DREAMS

So... we needed  another string to our economic bow and the govt had decided   to be bold and take squizz and see what lies beneath our fair land in the way of minerals.

Sadly - hysterics from the left and the greens have  put paid to that. There is some room for criticism that the policy may not have been well presented. That the discrete areas that  the government wanted to consider for exploration were small in the scheme of things and that much of the mining could have be been done unobtrusively, were messages that were sluiced out of the PR pan.  Instead the country collectively developed the notion that holes like that of the Martha mine would make moonscapes of out National Parks thanks to the Greens and their misinformation.

Anyway we hope that the government has still left themselves some wriggle  room and has not closed the door completely on the opportunity to extract the mineral  wealth we desperately  need. Done  properly its not scary.
Not done at all is just a travesty.

HEROINE OF THE VRWC

I always enjoy reading the Dominion in the mornings while waiting on my morning takeaway coffee from a little cafe called Mixed Business which is just north of Bordeaux Bakery on the Terrace. It is the favourite place for many Terrace Worriers.

Anyway, the young barista there is a pleasure to deal with. She remembers your name and your order and always has a smile for her customers.

This morning as I was propped up at the bench reading the paper, some young fellas started to talk about mining and how terrible it was. Anyway the aproned coffee maestro-ess gave them a verbal biffing.

Mining was a good thing she told them - the economy needed it and there was wayyy too many lies being told about the size of the holes, she lectured. Actually the only big holes were the gobs of the two young fellas as their jaws dropped in the face of the assault they got from the coffee queen.

She was polite but strident. We like that in a chick.

The boys, full of derision, tried to take her down with some puerile insults so we came to her aid. (not that she needed much. )

" She is right - the Greenies are spreading waay too much false crap - we are not going to be facing big huge holes" everywhere," we told them.

The surliest of the two young fellas then suggested that perhaps I also believed in the tooth fairy..

I suggested that he was the one who was being taken for a ride and gave him my best withering stare and he kinda melted like gold from the Martha Mine.

Anyway , the Barista from Mixed business was still bantering with them when I left.

So if you are in town or in need of a caffeine fix - head to Mixed Business.. Its our kinda place.

GOFF DIGS A BIG HOLE

NO GOLD JUST SHIT.

Labour’s mining hypocrisy laid bare




Labour’s hypocrisy over mining has been laid bare, says Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee, after new figures released by Crown Minerals today showed Labour approved more than 200 permits for mining on the Conservation Estate.



“This from the party that launched a campaign yesterday saying it was explicitly opposed to mining conservation areas – not just Schedule Four land, but conservation land full stop,” Mr Brownlee said.



“But if that wasn’t enough, we also have the release today of information that Labour approved a mining consent on land considered special enough to warrant Schedule Four status, the very behaviour Phil Goff has been decrying as unthinkable.



“It turns out Labour approved a permit in 2006 for mining gold, garnets and other gemstones on 168.5 hectares of land at Hart Creek, inside Paparoa National Park.



“Labour’s credibility on this issue is now shredded,” Mr Brownlee said.



Figures released by Crown Minerals [attached] show 218 permits were approved under a Labour government for mining inside Department of Conservation land between December 1999 and October 2008.



“The information shows Labour were happy for mining to take place on 21,961 hectares of land, meanwhile the government is seeking approval to release a mere 7,058 hectares of Schedule Four land, of which as little as 500 hectares might be mined,” Mr Brownlee said.



“And now Labour is running a web campaign that says ‘We’re against the idea of mining in our conservation areas.’



“This represents a new standard in hypocrisy,” Mr Brownlee said.

DOWN DEEP

IN OUR BACK YARD - COME ON IN ..

We are heading south in about a month to Stewart Island in particular to a cute littlemuttonbird island at the entrance of Port Pegusus. We are pretty confident that any mining on Stewart Island is going to be In Our Back Yard.

We know one of the key areas on the island that is under consideration is likely to be the Tin Range. An ugly rock scarred ridge that sits atop Port Pegasus.

Mining has been attempted their before but it was too hard. It is also home tosome of what are called the rare earth minerals.

Pegusus on a good day is stunning - on a bad day it is hell.


We are confident and supportive of any attempt to mine in our back yard. Just as long as they sweep up the yard and put out the rubbish when they leave.

KEY HAS BIG RAHO - BOLD MINING POLICY -

Yee ha! Finally we have some policy with balls. Pragmatism rocks - literally.

We now have some solid policy around the use of some conservation land for mining.

Now we come from the deep south and we have seen many old mining sites that you cannot recognise today. The land often heals quickly. Granted there are some ugly sites as well but technology has vastly improved over the past century.

Now at the end of the day when all the layers are scraped away we are likely to be looking at an area of about 500ha being mined - Our muttonbird island is about 50 ha so its an area 10 times as big. Its not huge.

We expect the Blue Greens, the Red Greens and the Green Greens and any local body politician who is looking for an easy election plank will be jumping all over this. Mining is an emotive issue.

However done properly we are confident that there will be a net conservation gain - just as there was for Pike River.

And on the same day we find that Key does have big balls he lets them blow in the wind with the announcement that he is going to be pragmatic over the whaling issue as well.

We also think that the Mining proposal opens up huge opportunity for Maori, as much Maori land borders on Conservation estate.

A blue ribbon day if ever there was one.

OUT OF FAVOUR ??

We remember fondly one of Gerry Brownlee's great lines about National Party operative Bryan Sinclair , whom at the time was supposed to be in charge of every major PR play by the National Party under the leadership of Don Brash.

Gerry, effectively ended all speculation by the media that Sinclair was still a "key man" involved in party strategy when he declared he was " someone who puts out chairs at press conferences"

It was clear by that cutting comment that Sinclair was no longer a party influencer.

We think that we are witnessing the same falling from favour of Ngai Tahu functionary( actually she is General Manager of Strategy and Influence) Sacha McMeeking who was recently appointed by National to the infrastructure Technical Advisory Group by Nick Smith on the 28th of January this year.

Its terms of Reference are:

Infrastructure Technical Advisory Group

The RM Phase II Infrastructure Technical Advisory Group (TAG) is appointed to provide independent advice to the Minister for the Environment on proposals for the reform of the Infrastructure provisions in the RMA and related legislation.

The Scope of the TAG's investigation of infrastructure work will include:

• A review of the role of designations in facilitating infrastructure development and an examination of options for reviewing and streamlining the designation mechanism.
• An investigation of alternatives to designations for planning for and managing the effects of activities on network infrastructure.
• Streamlining and integrating processes including for acquisition and compensation, under the Public Works Act 1981 and other legislation.

Ms McMeekings biography for that job reads:

Sacha McMeeking is of Ngāi Tahu descent and in 2009 was appointed General Manager Strategy and Influence with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Sacha McMeeking was a law lecturer at University of Canterbury from 2005 to 2007 and her career to date has included legal academia, social work, kaupapa Māori programme design and strategic and political advice. Sacha McMeeking will bring a strong Māori perspective to the group.

All that is very interesting as apparently Ms McMeeking was the author of the Iwi Forum
" alternative model "for for the Foreshore and Seabed Act. as well.


The government was apparently angered at the leaking of the " Alternative model" which pays lips service to property rights. Interestingly, that last week that led her to being described as a "relatively junior operative" .

However Fran O' Sullivan certainly didn't think Ms McMeeking was a relatively junior operative. She wrote :

"This document, written by Maori strategist and Ngai Tahu staff member Sacha McMeeking, was quickly played down once the Government started asking questions.

But McMeeking is no "relatively junior operative", as the Government has suggested. Her suggestion that the new act should be silent on the issue of ownership and that decision-making and autonomy of iwi and hapu be increased has not been disavowed by the leadership group. Neither has her suggestion that the concept of mana is enduring and inalienable, that coastal iwi/hapu have the right to continue to express that mana and that may encompass development and other rights."

She also suggests iwi/hapu should have veto rights over economic development including coastal occupation and resource extraction - "the Crown will panic at the thought of a nationwide veto but if it was applied to identifiable sites they might cope".

Whoever leaked the document has done all Kiwis a favour by bringing these shadowy dealings into the open."

All this against a backdrop of a Fantastic speech at Waitangi, by John Key where the Property Rights issue was given prominence

"In our homes and communities New Zealanders of all ethnicities live and work side-by-side in pursuit of a shared set of aspirations. No matter our cultural heritage, by and large New Zealanders value hard work and education, we seek better living standards and increased opportunities for our children, and we want this to be an inclusive nation where we respect each other and where each of us has the opportunity to get ahead.

Implicit in that set of values is an acknowledgment of the legal and cultural traditions we have in common. We share a respect for the rule of law, for property rights and for a basic sense of fairness in which Jack is as good as his neighbour.

The descriptor, relatively junior operative, applied to McMeeking , like that applied to the hapless Bryan Sinclair, is an indicator that her star maybe waning.

We watch developments on this front with interest.