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Presentation by Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks Regional Impacts Southland Lignite Slide 2 Oysters Friendly people Strong agricultural sector Trout fishing Burt Munro Rally Spectacular scenery Southern Institute of Technology Tiwai Aluminium Smelter Slide 3 New Zealands capital of brown trout fishing and country music HOME OF NZ Gold Guitar Awards Eastern Southland Gallery ( nicknamed the Goreggenheim) Hokonui Fashion Design Awards Southern Field Days Hokonui Moonshiners Festival All Blacks Jimmy Cowan & Justin Marshall Slide 4 Population approx 90,000 (2.3% of NZ) Only 2.6 people per km (15 people nationally) Land area 3,035,577 ha (12.0% of New Zealand land area) Three local authorities/one regional council Declining and ageing population Shift in farming sector from sheep/beef to dairying Slide 5 NOW 3 billion tonnes recoverable lignite in the Gore District (coalnz.com) Solid Energy main stakeholder New Vale coal mine output 250,000 tonnes pa Soon-to-be-commissioned $25m briquetting plant Plant to produce 90,000 tonnes of briquettes from 150,000 tonnes of lignite Slide 6 Coal to fertiliser plant Output: 1.2million tonnes urea pa (initial investigations but Solid Energy now considering other plant sizes) Cost: $NZ1.5 billion Jobs: Construction 1000 plus over 2/3 years Plant 250 Mine 250 Location: Decision at the end of 2012 at the earliest Slide 7 Coal to Liquid Fuels Input/output: Unknown Cost: $NZ10 billion plus Jobs: Construction 4000 over 3/4 years Plant 600 Mine 600 Commercial plant potentially operating by 2019-2020 Slide 8 Local, regional & national Potential impacts on air quality, water, ecology, traffic, noise Local authorities will have RMA and community advocacy roles Challenge will be how they balance these roles Recognise growth brings social change Maximise benefits while minimising impacts Slide 9 Population growth - how will it affect Our medical services Our schools Our recreational facilities Our safe communities Our municipal infrastructure Development but not at any cost Slide 10 Where will the people live? Where do we build new houses? Do we have enough water for them? Is there enough electricity? Will there be an increase in tourism? Will the pool be crowded? Will McDonalds get crowded? Slide 11 Doctors Dentists Emergency service personal Police Schools Playgrounds Recreation facilities Restaurants Slide 12 Prepare - be proactive not reactive GDC has commissioned background studies on Social and economic framework Transport model Urban infrastructure Landscape Framework to assess ecological values Next Step: A District Growth Strategy