September 26, 2013
Dam investment chance to learn
Ngati Kahunungu chair Ngahiwi Tomoana is standing firm against the proposed Rautaniwha project in the central Hawkes Bay.
He says revelations in parliament this week that not only the Department of Conservation but the Ministry of Primary Industry watered down their submissions on the project confirms his fear the planning process has become corrupted.
He says serious questions now need to be asked about the environmental impact on the region’s waterways and the credibility of the economic modelling.
Mr Tomoana sees Ngai Tahu’s intention to invest in the project not as an endorsement but as a precautionary move.
"They were keen to look at the modelling for this dam, because if it goes through here, it's coming to a river near you, doesn't matter which iwi. They wanted to be right at the sharp end and test the modelling in order to adapt it, reject it, improve it if it ever came their way, so they were quite clear with us at the start," he says.
He’s annoyed the Hawkes Bay council is trying to use the Ngai Tahu investment to attack Kahungunu’s stand.
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