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Concerns are being raised that a proposed mining operation - applied for under fast-track legislation - could cause irrevocable harm to the world's clearest freshwater springs, in Golden Bay.
Te Waikoropupū Springs is home to some of the clearest water ever measured on earth, it is a major tourist attraction in Abel Tasman, and sacred to mana whenua.
It is currently under a Water Conservation Order, which came into place last year following a decade long campaign - focused on nitrate leaching - by local iwi Ngāti Tama ki Te Waipounamu Trust, and Golden Bay resident Andrew Yuill.
Advocacy group, Save Our Springs, is now leading a petition to have all 16 Water Conservation Orders in New Zealand, be recognised in the Fast-track Approvals bill, currently at Select Committee stage.
The campaign was prompted by an application - from Australian mining company Siren Gold - under the fast-track legislation, for a gold mining operation in nearby Sam's Creek.
Siren Gold declined Nine to Noon's request for an interview. Save Our Springs coordinator Kevin Moran and Mary Hill, partner at legal firm Cooney Lees Morgan, speak to Kathryn.
Te Waikoropupu Springs Photo: Public Domain