Howie Tamati
Māori Party Candidate for Te Tai Hauāuru
10 AUGUST 2017

Howie Tamati Against Iron-Sand Mining

Māori Party Candidate for Te Tai Hauāuru Howie Tamati is deeply disappointed in the decision of the Environmental Protection Authority to allow iron-sand mining off the coast of South Taranaki.

“The people of Ngāti Ruanui will rightly feel aggrieved by this decision and I support their continued opposition to iron-sand mining in their rohe,” he says.

“The whole coastline of Te Tai Hauāuru is now under threat from further iron-sand mining which has the potential damage to our fish stocks."

"The affects that this activity will have on the well-being of our sealife is intolerable and the kaitiakitanga responsibilities of whānau, hapū, and iwi are undermined by the decision of the Environmental Protection Authority.”

“Iwi have the right to be part of the decision-making and with the current Marine and Coastal Area applications currently in train, which could give iwi the right to decide if iron-sand mining should go ahead, the timing of this decision could not be worse.”

Mr Tamati believes that changes should be made to the legislation to ensure that decisions do not allow for commercial interests to have priority over cultural interests.. He says it will be a key kaupapa that he will take into Parliament.

ENDS

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