Labour is abandoning its West Coast mining roots with changes to the Crown Minerals Act, Parliament heard this week during a third and final reading for the changes.
It means the Crown will no longer actively promote prospecting, exploration and mining of minerals.
National MP Stuart Smith said one clause changed "promote prospecting for exploration for and mining of Crown-owned minerals for the benefit of New Zealand" to "require the managed prospecting for exploration for and mining of Crown-owned minerals for the benefit of New Zealand."
"The Labour Party had its roots on the West Coast in the mining industry and now the Labour Party appears to be abandoning its base, leaving their mining past behind, and the hard work and toil of those miners that set up the Labour Party all those years ago," Mr Smith said.
Act New Zealand MP Simon Court said New Zealand was borrowing and spending much more than it was earning in foreign exchange.
Minerals could actually help to restore some of the economic losses that New Zealand has suffered in the past few years.
Minister of Energy and Resources Dr Megan Woods said "of course, we will be able to issue permits for all the kinds of mining activities ... for those minerals that we will need for our wind turbines; that we will need for our electric vehicles; that we will need for emerging battery technologies."
"We do need to continue to phase out coal in the economy and that is exactly what our Government is doing."
The Crown Minerals Act was "out of step" with the move towards net zero.
Green MP Julie Anne Genter said the difference between promoting and managing was important.
"It doesn't mean that there will be nothing happening.
The Bill was later passed into law.
