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Great Barrier iwi Ngāti Rēhua and Ngātiwai ki Aotea are up in arms about a consent allowing the dumping of dredge tailings around their island.
Spokesperson Kelly Klint says the Environment Protection Agency failed to consult the iwi before allowing up to 250,000 cubic metres of sludge from Auckland Harbour to be dumped every year for 35 years.
She says there was no proper inquiry into likely environmental damage of dumping on the iwi's traditional hāpuka grounds.
"It's also where the Pacific warm waters come through so all the fish are coming through this area. Our people have been fishing that area and those waters for generations and our tūpuna who spilt blood look after that moana. So we are up in arms they have disregarded and totally ignored our concerns," Ms Klink says
The company doing the dumping, Coastal Resources Ltd, has dropped its opposition to her appeal, which will now be heard in July.
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