Journalistic tosh

This is how Stuff in its wisdom decides to draw you into reading its story on the proposed extension of mining in Waihi.

The stories lede

A $1 billion plan to mine gold and silver under Waihi has divided the town with Newmont Waihi Gold denying claims it has bought the town's silence to ensure the proposal gets the green light.

Well they haven't bought "silence" have they since the reporter who wrote this found at least one person who would make this claim.

But there is nothing sinister in this is there?

Newmont spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in the township. That includes $100,000 on the town's six schools and college, and sponsorship of local sports teams and facilities. Waimata Primary School has just received new classroom computers.

For goodness sake the company is putting money back into the town and into the lives of the people who live there and anybody with half a functioning brain cell knows without the company there probably would be no town - there are plenty of ghost towns that would attest would to this.

A $1 billion dollar plan to mine gold and silver is good for all - unless you believe in the magical money tree that is.