Wannabe seabed miners Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) have now applied for fast-track approval to dig up the South Taranaki Bight seabed, but community organisation Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (KASM) questioned whether the company had done the work required to give the EPA a full picture of the consequences, and whether it has consulted as it should have.

The company’s 100% Australian owner Manuka Resources posted a notice to the Australian Stock Exchange today saying yesterday it had submitted an application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for consent to start seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight, to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed a year, and dump 95% of it back down into the Bight. The EPA now has 15 days to mark it as “complete” before appointing a panel to consider the application.

KASM chairperson Cindy Baxter said TTR hadn’t filled in the gaps in understanding the massive impact of the operation, which would take place in a 66 square km section of the Bight.

“This company hasn’t done any new modelling of the sediment plume since 2017, a fact that was brought to light in a hearing last year, when the hearing committee was contemplating commissioning its own modelling to fill that gap,” she said. “They see the fast track as a shortcut and are acting like it's a fait accompli,” she said.

For example, in 2014, the EPA refused consent, and told TTR to go back and do a full marine mammal survey. It did not do this for the second application, nor for the re-hearing, and still has not done so.

“We call on the EPA to check this application thoroughly, because we don’t think the company has done the mahi to show it would cause no harm - and to ensure proper environmental protection. It hasn’t done the right modelling and any approval process would be operating in the dark.”

Meanwhile KASM noted that community opposition to the project remains absolutely staunch, with protests planned in Opunake next weekend, including a paddle-out planned on Saturday 26 April, as a 1300-strong local petition continues to grow.

“We know the community is vehemently opposed to this destructive project, from Iwi, to the majority of the councils, the surfers at Opunake and across the region - to the NZ-First and ACT-voters who love fishing,” she said.

“Equally, anyone who lives on a black sand beach on the west coast of both islands should be concerned, because if this project goes through it will set a precedent. But of course under this process, the fast-track panel will hear none of this widespread concern, because our coin-operated government that’s beholden to its industrial funders has shut us out.”

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