Pub lunch included in Mayor Alley's challenge to Shane Jones

It looks like controversial Mining Minister Shane “Drill, Baby Drill” Jones is going to accept an invitation emailed this morning (January 21) from Central Otago mayor Tamah Alley for a personal guided tour of her region - a region he’s described as “empty and pregnant with mining potential.”

Minister Jones has recently been involved in another heated exchange with Jurassic park actor Sir Sam Neill who is opposed to the $4 billion Santana mine at Bendigo near Cromwell.

But Mayor Tamah Alley is joining the fight today with a personal invitation to Minister Jones to come with her on a guided tour of Central Otago.

“We do have a lot of vast open space and there is plenty of room for lots of things, but we do need to ensure that the lots of things that might come fit with our way of life” she told Crux after an early morning coffee meeting with Roxburgh locals.

“We need to enhance what we have on offer in Central Otago. And that may or may not be mining, but we want to ensure that if a mine is consented in this area, that it’s not going to be detrimental in the long term - to our economy, to our people, to our way of life, to our landscapes.

“There are ways that things can be protected. And I think it’s just ensuring that the processes are followed. But the Fast Track act may make that difficult. Lots of people come for our wide open spaces which are not available everywhere.”

Crux asked if the mayor felt the colourful, sometimes aggressive, language used by the Minister was appropriate.

“I think it just points to perhaps not the broadest understanding of what we have on offer. I’m more than willing to take him on a tour to see some of the things that make this region special. Hopefully he’ll take me up on that offer.

“I did tell him that I know where all the best country pubs are for lunch and that obviously is a very important aspect of any regional visit. So we’ll see how we go. “