Kelvin Davis

The Government's decision to mine New Zealand's national parks makes a mockery of the Ministry of Tourism's guiding principle of 'kaitiakitanga', says Labour's Tourism and Associate Maori Affairs spokesperson Kelvin Davis.

"The Ministry claims this guiding principle is the basis of their approach to sustainable management of our natural environment for future generations.

"It is an insult to Maori that our language and culture is used to embellish a Ministry's mission statement when the Government tramples all over its true meaning.

"Mining of national parks is contrary to the value of kaitiakitanga and the best interests of New Zealand's tourism industry," Kelvin Davis says.

"Tourists come to New Zealand to view our landscapes and appreciate our Maori culture, not to take photos of big holes in the ground.

"If kaitiakitanga is not to be practised in reality, the word needs to be removed from the Ministry of Tourism's mission statement in order to stop the pretence that kaitiakitanga is a value of this National Government."