November 07, 2016
Ngati Ruanui challenges sediment evidence black-out
South Taranaki iwi Ngati Ruanui is in the Environment Court today challenging a decision by the Environment Protection Agency to withhold information on iron sand mining off the coast from Patea.
The agency has blacked out hundreds of pages of technical evidence from Trans Tasman Resources about what sort of sediment will be produced and where it will go.
Ngati Ruanui chief executive Debbie Ngarewa Packer says the secrecy undermines any confidence the public could feel about the agency’s ability to protect the environment.
She says what has emerged so far from the documents is that the agency has developed what seems to be an unhealthy relationship with the Australian miner.
"We believe that there has been reliance, largely from the EPA, on informatioon that TransTasman has provided them. Looking at the correspondence you can almost see the point they have gone from being objective to probably being too close to TTR, so we question their objectivity through this process," she says.
Debbie Ngarewa Packer expects the decision will be out tomorrow whether Ngati Ruanui can get the information on sediment discharge.
DEBBIE NGAREWA PACKER INTERIVEW
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