September 09, 2020
Standoff with iwi over West Coast Conservation Board
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage is rejecting claims by Ngāi Tahu that her recent appointments to the West Coast Conservation Board were unlawful.
Ngāi Tahu members say the Minister has not listened to their concerns about the board's makeup and disregarded her treaty obligations under the Conservation Act, so they are boycotting meetings.
Ms Sage approved a second term for board chair Keith Morfett and replaced Buller member Coraleen White with Lake Brunner dairy farmer and Federated Farmers national president Katie Milne.
She says the Act required her to consider the interests of nature conservation, natural earth and marine sciences, recreation, tourism and the local community including tangata whenua of the area.
She had consulted the Minister for Māori Development over her choices.
Dr Morfett says the board has deferred a vote on a proposed climate change policy until Ngāi Tahu returns to the table.
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