September 26, 2019
Ruanui confident after mining ban argued
South Taranaki iwi Ngāti Ruanui is feeling confident after putting its objections to an offshore mining consent to the Court of Appeal.
The iwi is challenging the Environmental Protection Authority over the way it handled the application from Australian firm Trans Tasman Resources to suck up millions of tonnes of iron sand from the seafloor.
Rūnanga chief executive Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says its legal team argued the authority paid only lip service to iwi and Māori, despite provisions in the Exclusive Economic Zone Act that kaitiakitanga was an active interest.
It also ignored the need to protect Treaty of Waitangi fishing rights.
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com