NZ ‘Saudi Arabia’ of the South Pacific

But meanwhile the London Guardian lashes the Kiwis for its greenwash over its 100 per cent pure marketing claims, while the country continued to increase greenhouse gas emissions, had the world's third-highest rate of car ownership, and "methane-belching cows" that helped push agricultural emissions to almost half the country's total. This sort of publicity is seen as potentially harming the country’s tourism industry, which makes $17 billion a year and employs 185,000 people.

The Economist said previously New Zealand had been able to combat threats to its green image and had argued against concerns about food miles using research showing how efficient local food producers were.

“In many ways, the dilemma New Zealand faces is no different to that of other rich countries - how to balance economic growth with the need to address environmental degradation. But it is particularly acute in a country so dependent on the export of commodities and landscape-driven tourism. The difference between New Zealand and other places is that New Zealand has actively sold itself as ‘100% Pure’.”

It was left to Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee to find a rugby simile. He says the potential mining areas represent a post card on a footy field. Minerals targeted in the proposals include gold, silver, nickel and platinum, as well as many rare earth metals vital for high tech industries.

Brownlee says there is a huge demand for them that would last many years and that mining them with minimal impact on the environment was vital to New Zealand's economic growth.

The New Zealand Herald newspaper complains that there is nothing in the stock take about the possible economic upside, either in jobs or general benefits to GDP or direct financial gains for the Crown.

“The amounts the Government might expect as royalties from private companies exploiting non hydrocarbon deposits are likely to be small. The absence of an economic case, even theoretical, is an important omission.”

At the heart of much of this seething public row, however, lies mineral envy. A NZ columnist wrote that mining would help NZ emulate Australia as a lucky country, while one newspaper commented that NZ always felt Australia is bigger and better because its people earn more and economic success is a measure of greatness. “This success is pretty much due to one factor - Australia's huge mineral wealth - and it is because of this that the gap between our two nations has steadily widened in recent years.

“The growing economic gulf between us has long been a National Party obsession - indeed former leader Don Brash never seemed to stop talking about it - for good reason. Now, through its new plans to open up conservation lands to mining, our Government has signalled it wants a piece of the minerals action.”