August 29, 2018
Officials blamed for seabed mining debacle
DEBBIE NGAREWA PACKER INTERVIEW
A South Taranaki iwi says an application to mine the seabed off Patea should never have been allowed to get to the consent stage.
Ngāti Ruanui and its supporters have prevailed a second time against the application by Trans Tasman Resources, with the High Court ruling the consent issued by the Environment Protection Authority breached New Zealand's exclusive economic zone law.
Chief executive Debbie Ngarewa Packer says the judge confirmed the iwi's position there had not been enough information on the effect of sucking millions of tonnes of ironsand from the sea floor.
She says after knocking back an earlier application from the Australian company, the authority should not have accepted a second application application in the sketchy form presented.
"These officials down there who hide behind desks should never have accepted that application. It was never complete. We could see that based on our extensive experience in this sector and the fact they were allowed to hang on to this and drag it, it's absolutely criminal they were allowed to get away with doing this stuff to our people," Ms Ngarewa Packer says.
The fight has taken resources the iwi could have used for the social and economic development of its people.
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