Five people from Karangahake and other parts of the Coromandel have been arrested for occupying conservation land at Mount Karangahake.

The arrests follow what is being described as a ‘peaceful protest' at the entrance to the Windows recreational area.

Watchdog co-ordinator Augusta Macassay Pickard says the arrests are disappointing.

"It beggars belief that our communities are being put into this situation; that they are having to go to extreme lengths, risking arrest, simply for saying that they do not want this Australian company to come in here and mine. Compromising their tourism, their water and their quality of life.”

The protest is a challenge to miners from the 2018 Australia Institute of Metallurgy and Mining NZ Branch Annual Conference who have come to Karangahake to promote gold mining in the Department of Conservation land, says Augusta.

'We are here to tell the mining industry they cannot mine in this forest and to call on the Government to urgently implement their promise to extend protection of the DOC lands as far south as Te Aroha.

"Right now the protection from mining on DOC land only applies to the northern Hauraki, Labour and the Greens have promised to extend it, with the Minister for the Environment repeating this last weekend at the Environment Conservation Organisations of New Zealand annual conference in Napier.”

She alleges Coromandel Watchdog, together with other local groups concerned, secured a commitment from the Labour and Green Party last year to extend the schedule four protection as far as Mt Te Aroha, thereby protecting it from mining.

'So far, there has been no movement by the Government to do this, despite that commitment.

"In the meantime, places like Mount Karangahake are being actively explored for gold, and the more time that passes, the more invested these companies become.

'We have said since this was first mooted that mining this area is unacceptable, mining conservation land is unacceptable. The current Government agree with us, so how are these people still in our mountains, drilling and degrading them?

'We need action now, and we are having to go to extreme lengths to get it. We will continue our peaceful protests until it is all protected."

Among those arrested during today's protest includes former Green MP Catherine Delahunty.

'These people are on public land, doing their duty to conservation. The mining industry have more rights than the local community and the many thousands of visitors who are being blocked from this area so a foreign mining company can try and set up a gold mine on the heart of the mountain.

'The mining industry conference came here today to promote this area for mining; we have been proud to tell them loud and clear that toxic gold mining is unacceptable here. We urge the Government to action their promise of protection.”

SunLive has contacted the Australia Institute of Metallurgy and Mining and will post an update when more information becomes available.