Maori overlooked in iron sand mining

Ma¯ ori interests were not properly considered in the decision to allow seabed iron sand mining off Taranaki, a court has been told.

Local iwi were among groups that went to the High Court at Wellington yesterday, seeking to overturn environmental permission for the Trans-Tasman Resources Ltd project.

A lawyer for Ma¯ ori and fishing interests, Francis Cooke, QC, said as far as his clients were aware this was a world first to allow deep-sea iron sand mining.

The permission, though, had split the members of the Environmental Protection Authority’s decision-making committee, and the outcome depended on the chairman’s vote.

Cooke said the majority decision of the EPA committee had reduced to an ‘‘interpretive gloss’’ the strongly-worded direction to take into account the interests of Ma¯ ori, and give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Instead, the interests of Ma¯ ori could be said to be reduced to lip service.

The highest concentration of suspended sediment would occur in a coastal marine area offshore from the Nga¯ ti Ruanui district, and fish were expected

‘‘The interests of Ma¯ ori are reduced to what can fairly be called lip service.’’ Lawyer Francis Cooke, QC

to avoid the area, with severe effect on seabed life within 2 kilometres of the operation, and moderate effects up to 15km of the mining area.

Cooke said one of the committee’s alleged errors was not taking into account an earlier decision to decline the application.

The company has allegedly spent about $80 million preparing for the mining.

The EPA decision-making committee said that when extraction finally ended the effects would be long term but not permanent.

Cooke said the committee appeared to have applied a standard that allowed the environment to be harmed provided that it ultimately recovered.

It had misunderstood, and misapplied the law, he said.

In August, the authority’s committee granted Trans-Tasman Resources 35-year marine and discharge consents to annually mine up to 50 million tonnes of iron sand in the South Taranaki Bight.

A remote-controlled dredge will vacuum sand from the sea bed between depths of 20 metres and 42m, at a rate of 8000 tonnes an hour, to a processing ship.

The dredging is earmarked in an area spanning 22km to 36km off the coastline from Patea.

The decision-making committee said the company proposed extracting seabed material and processing it on a vessel.

Approximately 10 per cent of the material would be processed into iron ore concentrate, while the rest would be discharged on the seabed.

It was expected much of the concentrate would be sent to China for the production of steel.

Greenpeace, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, the Taranaki-Whanganui Conservation Board, Cloudy Bay Clams, the Federation of Commercial Fishermen, Southern Inshore Fisheries Management Company, Talleys Group, Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Ltd, and Trustees of Te Kaahui o Rauru, have appealed against the committee’s approval.

Trans-Tasman Resources is supporting the committee’s decision.

The High Court hearing is expected to take about a week.