Central Otago’s mayor and councillors are set to decide today (Wednesday January 28) whether former long-serving councillor Neil Gillespie is the right fit to sit on the panel assessing Santana Minerals’ proposed Bendigo-Ophir gold mine.

The decision will be made at Central Otago District Council’s first full meeting of the year, as elected members consider guidance from fast-track hearing panel convenor Jane Borthwick on the skills and experience required.

The council has already nominated Neil - a former deputy mayor and current Otago Regional Council councillor - to sit on the expert panel that will hear submissions on the gold mine application.

However, a report to councillors notes the Fast-track Approvals Act differs from earlier fast-track legislation and requires panels to collectively hold a broad mix of technical and decision-making expertise.

In guidance provided to the council, Jane said panel members must collectively have “qualifications relevant to the approvals sought in the application, as well as demonstrated expertise in environmental matters”.

She also said panel members needed “strong writing skills, proven decision-making experience, ability to work collaboratively, and willingness to personally commit significant time and effort to the project,” noting careful selection was critical to ensuring the process was “timely, efficient, consistent, and cost-effective”.

The report said, given the technical nature of the Santana Minerals application, it was possible Jane may not accept Neil’s nomination.

As a result, it was considered “prudent to discuss other possibilities to provide options for consideration”.

The mayor and councillors will decide whether to nominate an additional candidate alongside Neil.

The report said there were no financial implications for the council, and the final decision on panel appointments rested with Jane as panel convenor.

Proposed Bendigo-Ophir gold mine area. Image: Facebook/Santana Minerals

The nomination question follows a conference last week where councils, government agencies and iwi representatives signalled broader concern about both the fast-track process and Santana Minerals’ proposal.

Counsel for Central Otago District Council told the conference the scale and technical complexity of the Bendigo-Ophir project warranted more time than the standard fast-track timeframe.

They also raised concerns about the quality and consistency of early engagement from the developer ahead of the application being lodged.

Read more: Agencies seek more time, challenge engagement on gold project

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