Kiwis Against Sand Mining update
By now you’ll probably have heard that the EPA has decided to grant consent to seabed miners Trans Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed a year – every year – for 35 years to get to our precious west coast black sand.
We put up a great fight. Indeed, two of the four-person panel agreed with us, but the Chair had the casting vote. This is a terrible decision – we are stunned that they gave it the go-ahead, after all the evidence against it. But our fight isn’t over yet. We’ve beaten them twice already.
I have to thank every last one of you for your enduring support over the last year as the hearing dragged on (and on and on – it was clear that the EPA was doing everything it could to get this project over the line). An amazing 13,477 people opposed it in submissions to the EPA.
Our fight is not over. We are going to appeal this decision to the High Court. We have 15 days to lodge that, and we have instructed our lawyers to start drafting.
To do this, we’re going to need your help – taking an appeal to the High Court is an expensive process, but we think it’s worth it. We CAN win this. Click here to make a donation to KASM today to help us fight this dangerous decision.
Our expert witness, blue whale scientist Dr Leigh Torres, was out there on the South Taranaki Bight earlier this year. She reported to the hearing that they had recorded a massive 68 blue whale sightings in this year’s nine-day research expedition. These whales would struggle with the noise from mining, and their food – krill – could suffer from the sediment from the mining in the water column.
Our precious and endangered Maui dolphins have also been present in the Bight. And we had another witness – a penguin expert – who said the little blue penguin, the Korora, could feed in the area around the mining site.
The mana whenua, Ngati Ruanui, have also announced that they will appeal this decision. The two dissenting members of the EPA panel were very concerned about the local impacts. Ironically, the South Taranaki Reef Life project, likely to be affected, got the Government’s Green Ribbon award this year.
Trans Tasman Resources has a very long way to go before they can start celebrating this decision. We will fight them for our beaches. We are going to appeal this to the High Court. Please support our fight and make a donation today!
We’ve beaten them twice, and we can do it again!
Kia kaha
Phil McCabe
Chairperson
PS Did I say thank you enough You are awesome! I’ll be back in touch soon.
Its disgusting the way the system has been changed to remove these sort of decisions from Regional Councils and give it to the Nats by way of the EPA. Calling in matters of national importance they call it. Yeah right. Its taking these big financial money making schemes out of the control of locals and giving it to the puppets of the Government. Why is this? They say jobs and the economy but what about the environment and the will of the local people now and in the future? I suspect someone is going to be making a pretty penny out of this deal and I suspect that is the main reason this decision has been twisted to this end result.
Agree. So vote for a party to change it – the Green’s Gareth Hughes said they’ll stop sea-bed mining with a moratorium – https://www.greens.org.nz/news/press-release/green-party-will-stop-destructive-sea-bed-mining-whale-habitat