October 02, 2018
Dargaville chicken megafarm plan axed
A Dargaville Marae is celebrating the end ogf plans to build a chicken megafarm on its boundary.
Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage and Associate Finance Minister David Clark declined consent under the Overseas Investment Act for Tegel to buy land adjoining Kapehu Marae after receiving advice from the The Overseas Investment Office that the land sale was not likely to result in substantial and identifiable benefits to New Zealand.
Marae chair Margaret Mutu says the Dargaville community and the marae of northern Wairoa were united in their opposition.
The marae brought its protest to Tegel's Auckland offices, and it also produced a 200 page cultural impact statement.
"How long do we have to keep doing this, justifying who we are as Māori and why you should not put a stinking, very serious threat to our health right on our boundary," Professor Mutu says.
She also credits local MP Kelvin Davis for his support for the kaupapa.
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