August 02, 2017
Ngatiwai working with Helena Lodge on impacts to their taonga
Chair of Ngatiwai iwi, Haydn Edmonds says reports Russian billionaire Alexander Abramov's application to take 60 thousand litres of water a day is incorrect.
Ngatiwai found itself at the centre of a fracas over the consent for a 60 thousand litre water take by the Russian businessman who owns a luxury lodge in its rohe at Helena Bay, north of Whangarei.
Haydn Edmonds says the consent was withdrawn when the Helena Bay Resort, consulted with the local hapu.
He says Mokau marae is now working with the resort to research cultural and environmental impacts on the awa.
"I have spoken directly with the chairman of that marae committee and they assigned a person who has the credentials to support and work with Helena Bay Holdings and the lodge to be able to do a much longer study. That's why they withdrew before they even reached the date of being granted or not. It was a week before that, that they had withdrawn the application pending much longer conversations with the marae people," says Haydn Edmonds.
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