Seabed mining opponents angered by intervention

WELLINGTON: Attorneygeneral David Parker has been granted leave to intervene in a Supreme Court appeal over seabed mining off the coast of Taranaki — a move that has shocked opponents of the proposal.

TransTasman Resources wants to mine up to 50 million tonnes of ironsand annually in the South Taranaki Bight.

It is opposed by iwi and environmental groups.

The High Court quashed consent for the work, and the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal of that decision by TransTasman Resources. The company is now challenging that decision in the Supreme Court.

In a synopsis of submissions for Mr Parker, the Crown Law Office said intervention raised issues relating to the Treaty of Waitangi, Maori customary interests and the applicability of tikanga to marine and marine discharge consent applications under the Exclusive Economic Zone Act.

It said the Attorneygeneral’s primary focus was on the general principles and approach adopted by the Court of Appeal rather than on the specific consent decision at issue between the parties.

Te Runanga o Ngati Ruanui kaiarataki and Maori Party coleader Debbie NgarewaPacker said it appeared Mr Parker was agreeing to a narrower interpretation of Treaty rights and customary law.

‘‘We are gutted that the Attorneygeneral is opposing the ruling of the Court of Appeal, in effect bolstering a mining company that is disregarding Treaty and environment law to push through a consent that risks environmental disaster for Aotearoa.

‘‘This new Government, if true to their stated goal of being transformational and protecting precious marine environments, should not be siding with fossil fuel interests in landmark legal cases.’’

Ms NgarewaPacker said mining 50 million tonnes of ironsand every year would represent an act of environmental vandalism which would destroy entire ecosystems and change New Zealand’s coastlines forever.

‘‘By rejecting the rulings of the Court of Appeal, who argued that Treaty rights and the purpose of the Act needed to be interpreted in the widest possible way, the Attorneygeneral is seeking to undo a groundbreaking legal precedent that could help tangata whenua and environmental groups defend the marine environment for years to come.’’ — RNZ