Injunction to halt 1080 plan
An urgent injunction has been lodged in the Ma¯ori Land Court Te Taitokerau to stop the Department of Conservation aerially applying 1080 over public or private land.
The injunction, which was accepted at the Te Taitokerau Land Court in Whanga¯rei on Thursday afternoon on the grounds of urgency, was to be considered yesterday. It was lodged by Northland residents Riki Ngatoki and Hayward Brown, and was prepared with the help of Nga Tikanga Ma¯ori Law Society Inc.
The Department of Conservation has planned to drop 1080 pellets over Russell State Forest and part of Cape Brett over the next two weeks, weather permitting, after laying taster baits last week. A copy of the injunction had been delivered to DoC’s Whanga¯rei office late last week, and no drops would take place until the outcome was known.
The department declined to comment further while the matter was before the court.
Mr Ngatoki said the injunction applied to the use of 1080 on Ma¯ori land anywhere in the country, and was not restricted to Northland.
Another application, lodged by Auckland opponents of a 1080 drop in the Hunua Ranges, is expected to be heard in the Environment Court this week, but Nga Tikanga Ma¯ori Law said the injunction it had helped prepare was based on land and ownership rights. It is understood to refer to land boundaries and legal descriptions within the intended drop zone.
Mr Ngatoki said the underlying argument was about returning to tangata whenua the right to say what happened on Ma¯ori-owned land, adding that poisoning the land and water was not part of the values of past generations or of tikanga Ma¯ori.
A 20-year plan, led by neighbouring hapu in partnership with DoC, was announced recently for pest control and restoration of the ailing Russell Forest. Cape Brett was added to that operation at the request of land owners, enabling a sharing of costs.
A roopu mangai (lead group) of representatives from the nine hapu within the affected Russell Forest area has been charged with sharing information with marae and hapu, but opponents have questioned the level of consultation and depth of information-sharing. While not disputing the fact that forests are being decimated by possums and other pests, some critics have claimed there is no collective mandate.
Forest & Bird released helicopter footage of Russell State Forest on Friday showing to¯tara, northern ra¯ta¯ and pu¯riri dying on a large scale. The organisation has for some time been warning that the forest is on the brink of collapse.