in august 2009, brownlee was criticised by forest and bird spokesperson kevin hackwell for playing down government discussions to possibly allow more mining within conservation areas. hackwell was reported as stating that "if the government's to go down this line they could be buying a fight with the people of the coromandel, with the people of new zealand generally, who have put these areas aside and want them protected for their conservation values". the new zealand mining industry was reported as welcoming the move.