About Straterra

Natural Resources underpin all economic activity in the world, from aggregates for building roads to coal for industrial processors.

New Zealand’s natural resources are primarily owned by the public but previously there was no single agency with a mandate to advocate for the development of our mineral resource potential Straterra, launched at the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) conference in 2008, fulfills that role encompassing and representing the interests of every part of the mineral sector including metals, aggregates, coal and petroleum.

Chief Executive Richard Michael was appointed in April 2009. Previously CEO of the New Zealand Contractors’ Federation, Mr Michael is a former ministerial economic advisor and has held a range of senior managerial positions in the public and private sectors. He has strong skills and experience in relationship management, strategic leadership, public sector decision processes and communication

Straterra is building membership and planning an industry hub in Wellington providing in-house policy expertise and a meeting venue in the capital for members.

Early successes have included the appointment of a Minister for Natural Resources. Straterra is now concentrating on the many other issues and themes common to the sector and ensuring these are clearly conveyed to government and the public. While exploration of new energy resources inevitably attracts controversy, Straterra aims to ensure that a flow of accurate information will raise awareness of some of the misconceptions surrounding the industry and enable government policy and public opinion to be based on full consideration of all the facts.