9685 (2025). Lan Pham to the Minister for the Environment

9685 (2025). Lan Pham to the Minister for the Environment: What is the total amount spent, if any, annually on remediation of mining sites, and how does this compare with the previous 5 years?

Hon Penny Simmonds: I am advised that no funding has been granted by the Ministry for the Environment in financial years 2023/24 or 2024/25 towards the remediation of former mining sites. In the previous five years, the Ministry made payments totalling $388,104 excluding GST to investigate several historic and abandoned contaminated mine sites on public conservation land where the parties responsible for the contamination no longer existed. The sites were a former mercury mine in Northland, and two former gold mine sites in Thames-Coromandel. The funding equates to 3.76% of total funding granted for remediation of contaminated sites during this time period.