However, your recent open letter to Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop about mining and the fast-track (Opinion ODT 20.1.26) cannot pass without comment. It is frustrating when anti-mining groups don’t acknowledge this and try to dismiss mining while benefiting directly from minerals. It is because of the vast array of laws that mining projects belong in the fast-track process. The annualised income of Māori in mining is $78,624, compared with $60,537 Māori earn in all other sectors. • Josie Vidal is the chief executive of the New Zealand Minerals Council.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 25, 2026 15:38 UTC