Latest news with #seabedmining
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Iwi granted Waitangi Tribunal hearing into fast-tracked plans to mine seabed off Pātea
People marching through Patea in a hīkoi to oppose seabed mining, on 2 October, 2024. Photo: Supplied/ Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui Trust The Waitangi Tribunal has granted iwi a hearing into the way the Fast-track Approvals Act has been used to seek approval to mine the seabed off Pātea. Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) has applied under the legislation to mine in the South Taranaki Bight. South Taranaki iwi Ngāti Ruanui asked the tribunal to investigate alleged breaches of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in the fast-track approvals process . Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui Trust Kaiwhakahaere Rachel Arnott said the legislation excluded iwi and hapu from meaningful engagement when it mattered most. "The government has failed comprehensively under fast-track to consult with tangata whenua, ignored the Supreme Court and is failing to apply the principles of Te Tiriti. "Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and this government is doing it all wrong." The tribunal will now consider whether the government has breached Treaty of Waitangi principles and if it failed to sufficiently involve or consider rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga and the customary rights of Ngāti Ruanui. The tribunal stated the iwi's claim falls within the scope of the Natural Resources and Environmental Management kaupapa inquiry . Along with Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui, other claimant groups include: Groups outside Taranaki facing applications have also joined, including Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou ki Hauraki. All eight Taranaki iwi have publicly opposed the seabed mining project. In May, Ngā Iwi o Taranaki released a statement on behalf of the eight post-settlement governance entity iwi of Taranaki, voicing their support for South Taranaki iwi in their opposition to seabed mining off the coast of Pātea. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
We haven't sold out: council to clarify seabed mine stance
Councillor Bonita Bigham says she's been accused of selling out to the seabed miners, and a public statement is needed. Photo: LDR / Te Korimako o Taranaki Taranaki Regional Council is going public against accusations it has sold out to would-be seabed miners Trans-Tasman Resources. The Australian company has a permit to mine the seabed off Pātea for an initial 20 years, seeking to extract iron, titanium and vanadium. But Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) can't begin mining until it gets discharge consents to pump 45 million tonnes of unwanted sediment a year into the ocean. Iwi and community opponents of seabed mining spoke to councillors meeting on Tuesday morning, urging them to stand with their communities against the proposed mine. But the regional council wants to hang on to any influence it might have in the government's new Fast-track process - and fears taking a public stand might block it from decision-making. Councillor Bonita Bigham said Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) needed to state clearly what it's trying to achieve by staying neutral for now. "I've been… attacked on social media [and] in private for not having a position," the Māori constituency councillor said. "I've been accused of being a sell-out and having been bought out by TTR… I think this is a real risk to our reputation as an organisation." Bigham said those in the room - including opponents - understood the reason for neutrality. "But we've got 100,000 people out there who don't understand why we aren't saying something." As previously published by Local Democracy Reporting, TRC has three likely ways to have a say on the fate of Trans-Tasman's application under the Fast-track Approvals Act The council will help pick one of the four (or more) panel members that will approve or deny the seabed mining. And TRC staff are almost certain they'll be a relevant local authority and be one of the few groups allowed to formally comment on Trans-Tasman's application - and on any consent conditions. Councillor Susan Hughes KC advised elected members to be cautious even in their private lives. "It's just a useful thing to remind ourselves that it's not helpful if we're expressing opinions we think are informal at a social gathering or something like that - it has the potential for coming back to bite us." She advised councillors keep the discussion between themselves "so we don't risk undermining the effectiveness that we might otherwise wish to bring to bear on behalf of the regional council." Council chair Craig Williamson said individuals could have personal discussions to help form their views, but agreed the council would issue a press release to make its position clear. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
22-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Iwi must deal with us 'whether they want us or not'
A seabed mining protest held earlier in June. Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews The head of a company that wants to mine millions of tonnes of ironsands from the seabed off the Taranaki coast says local iwi - which unanimously oppose the project - must engage with Trans-Tasman Resources "whether they want us or not", when it gets its consents. TTR has approval to vacuum up 50 million tonnes of sand annually from the South Taranaki seabed for 35 years to extract iron, vanadium and titanium, but the company still needs consent to discharge 45 million tonnes of unwanted sediment a year back into the shallow waters. The company has previously been thwarted through legal challenges right up to the Supreme Court and is currently going through the fast-track consenting process. TTR said it can mine the seabed environmentally safely, and its project would significantly boost the national and regional economies. Managing director Alan Eggers outlined the virtues of the project to councillors and members of the public - many of whom opposed it - for about an hour at a workshop last week. At the conclusion of his presentation, councillor Bryan Vickery asked Eggers why - despite his compelling case - did all eight Taranaki iwi oppose the project, and why was there a disconnect between TTR and iwi. In May, Ngā Iwi o Taranaki released a statement on behalf of the eight Post Settlement Governance Entity iwi of Taranaki, voicing their support for South Taranaki iwi in their opposition to seabed mining off the coast of Pātea. "Our iwi stand alongside our southern iwi to support them and amplify their concerns about seabed mining in their takiwā," said Ngā Iwi o Taranaki pouwhakahaere Wharehoka Wano. "We encourage all iwi to support our South Taranaki whānau in their deep opposition to TTR and seabed mining." Eggers told the workshop TTR had documented its interactions with iwi and they were extensive. "We're very disappointed at the lack of engagement that they have given us. They haven't engaged, they've refused to engage with us. "We would love to engage with them and, let me say this, we are going to be working with South Taranaki iwi when we get our consent, whether they like want us or not. "We're going to want them on board, and were going to want them to actually do a lot of this marine monitoring and research." After the meeting, Eggers told RNZ that iwi previously wanted to invest in the project. "We had a quite good relationship with South Taranaki iwi to start with and they were quite keen, in fact, to join us as perhaps an equity partner in the project, invest in the project. We'd welcomed that." Protect Our Moana group member and Parihaka uri Tihikura Hohaia said he didn't know who Eggers was talking about, when he said TTR had consulted with iwi. "He certainly hasn't come to consult with any of us grassroots whanau, hapū that are keeping our home fires burning on our marae... not at all, I can tell you that right now." Hohaia didn't hear anything in Eggers' presentation that made him think the project could go ahead in an environmentally safe way. "I don't believe it," he said. "It mustn't go ahead. "If it goes ahead, it's going to condemn our already impoverished, trampled uri to generations of protest." During his presentation, Eggers spoke to economic benefits and environmental credentials of TTR's project, while councillors and the public gallery maintained a steely silence. He pointed to the 3.2 billion tonne resource TTR had discovered in the South Taranaki Bight, saying it could generate export revenues of $1 billion a year, making it New Zealand's 11th or 12th largest exporter. The project would create about 1320 jobs nationally, and generate $190 million in government royalties and taxes per annum, Eggers said. Taranaki would benefit significantly. New Plymouth would be the operational headquarters, and Hāwera a training and logistics base. TTR would directly employ 305 people in Taranaki - 270 operational staff and 35 in administrative support. Eggers said 1125 jobs would be generated in the region in logistics, supplies, services and maritime operations. Port Taranaki and Whanganui Port would be upgraded, and TRR would spend $250 million annually in Taranaki. He brushed off concerns about the project disturbing marine mammals and rocky reefs, arguing - with supporting evidence - that there were no reefs in the project area and visits by blue whales anywhere near the mining site were extremely rare. Concerns about the plume created by dredging the seafloor were also dismissed, Eggers arguing that waters near the site would be no more turbid than during a stormy day and reefs would not be smothered. At the conclusion of his presentation, Eggers took about half a dozen questions from councillors, before Mayor Neil Holdom drew the meeting to a close. Eggers thought the meeting went well. "Well, I was pleased to have been given the opportunity, and hopefully I did give them some facts and figures around the project, and its benefits and effects." Hohaia remained unconvinced. "It felt very violent against a backdrop of a cultural upbringing in an area of land loss and so the pure focus on economics for us, the people in the room, sitting in the gallery, it seemed totally bereft of any wairua, of any spirit at all." He said proud opponents of the project sat through the address "with dignity". "These kinds of presentation, as you'd expect, are all about money, all about the supposed benefits through that perspective alone. We've seen enough environmental degradation, we've seen enough cultural degradation here in Taranaki to know better than to be lured by any more sliver coins." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Decision looms on seabed mining
Aotearoa will soon have a big decision to make - and on an issue where emotions run high. Governments around the world are weighing up whether to allow mining of the ocean floor for metal ores and minerals, and that includes New Zealand. Senior Lecturer in Law at Auckland University of Technology Myra Williamson believes seabed mining could become one of the defining environmental battles of 2025. She joins Jesse to discuss the issue. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
15-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Tribunal asked to halt seabed mine fast-track
Rachel Arnott with kaumatua Ngāpari Nui at the New Plymouth District Council committee. Photo: Te Korimako o Taranaki South Taranaki hapū want the Waitangi Tribunal to halt a fast-track bid to mine the seabed off Pātea. Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) has applied under the new Fast-track Approvals Act to mine in the South Taranaki Bight for 20 years. The mining and processing ship would churn through 50 million tonnes of the seabed annually, discharging most of it back into the ocean in shallow water just outside the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit. Hapū and iwi are seeking a tribunal injunction to block processing of TTR's fast-track application. The claimants want an urgent hearing into alleged Crown breaches and are seeking to summon Crown officials they say are responsible. They say the Crown failed to consult tangata whenua, breaching Te Tiriti o Waitangi and ignored a Supreme Court ruling against the seabed mine. To get an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing, applicants must be suffering or likely to suffer significant and irreversible prejudice, as a result of current or pending Crown actions. Lead claimant Puawai Hudson of Ngāruahine hapū Ngāti Tū said their moana was rich in taonga species. "If seabed mining goes ahead, we lose more than biodiversity - we lose the mauri that binds us as Taranaki Mā Tongatonga [people of south Taranaki]," Hudson said. The area was also subject to applications under the Marine and Coastal Area Act - the law that replaced the Foreshore and Seabed Act. "This is not consultation - this is colonisation through fast-track." The applicants' legal team, who're also of Ngāruahine, say the Wai 3475 claim breaks new ground. Legal tautoko Alison Anitawaru Cole and Te Wehi Wright said the Court of Appeal proved the tribunal's powers to require Crown action in urgent and prejudicial cases, when it summonsed Children's Minister Karen Chhour. They argue the tribunal should be able to halt other urgent and prejudicial Crown actions - such as processing TTR's application under the Fast-track Approval Act (FAA). The Taranaki claimants are: Groups outside Taranaki facing FAA applications have also joined, including Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou ki Hauraki. As opponents press their claim, TTR is due to argue its case this week at New Plymouth District Council (NPDC). Trans-Taman said opposition to seabed mining lacked scientific credibility and the waste sediment it discharges would be insignificant, given the load already carried by the turbid Tasman Sea. TTR managing director Alan Eggers is expected to lay out his wares to councillors at a public workshop on Wednesday morning. The company promises an economic boost in Taranaki and Whanganui, creating more than 1350 New Zealand jobs and becoming one of the country's top exporters. The only known local shareholder - millionaire Phillip Brown - last week was reported to lodge a complaint to NPDC, alleging bias by its iwi committee, Te Huinga Taumatua. The Taranaki Daily News reported Brown thought tribal representatives and councillors on the committee talked for too long during a deputation opposed to TTR's mining bid. After the hour-and-a-quarter discussion, Te Huinga Taumatua co-chair Gordon Brown noted it was a record extension of the officially allotted 15 minutes. The committee, including Mayor Neil Holdom, voted that the full council should consider declaring opposition to TTR's mine, when it meets on 24 June. Brown reportedly believed the meeting was procedurally flawed and predetermined. Iwi liaison committees in north and south Taranaki typically relax debate rules to allow fuller kōrero. Taranaki Regional Council's powerful policy and planning committee recently reached a rare accord on dealing with freshwater pollution, when its new chair - Māori constituency councillor Bonita Bigham - suspended standing orders in favour of flowing discussion. Ngāti Ruanui has stood against Trans-Tasman for more than a decade, including defeating their application in the Supreme Court. Rūnanga kaiwhakahaere Rachel Arnott said the Crown should know mana whenua would never give up. "We are still here, because our ancestors never gave up fighting for what is right. "Tangaroa is not yours to sell - we will never leave, we will be here way beyond TTR, they have no future here." LDR is local body reporting co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air
