Source: Radio New Zealand
Buller’s Jamie Cleine will run for election for NZ First, the party has announced. RNZ / Nate McKinnon
New Zealand First has revealed former Buller mayor Jamie Cleine will stand for the party in the West Coast-Tasman electorate, in November’s general election.
Cleine lost the mayoralty in the October local elections after six years in the job, during which he led work on a plan to relocate Westport over decades, in the face of climate change.
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He has been a dairy and livestock farmer for 26 years.
The candidate announcement comes alongside a policy announcement NZ First wants half of the royalties from mining returned to the region it was mined from, through targeted investment, including in local infrastructure and housing.
This would come alongside revised rules for where mining can occur, longer-term mining permits, and investment in geological surveying technology.
Meanwhile, they would also curb the ability of the Department of Conservation to intervene by prioritising protection for areas of high conservation only, and “streamlining” timeframes for the agency, with the proviso of ensuring protection for “genuinely endangered species”.
This would be achieved through changes to the Conservation and Wildlife Acts.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
