MEDIA RELEASE

Taranaki Iwi Ngāti Ruanui is outraged but unsurprised to discover the Government has been using private investigators to spy on Iwi.

What is more shocking is that private investigators Thompson and Clark have been engaged in all levels of Government Departments and Crown Agencies resulting in bias and poor operational practices. The Government has failed Iwi.

Ngāti Ruanui is asking more questions about these corrupt practices and is expecting answers.

“What we suspected for years has sadly been confirmed- not only have we been fighting poor practicing industry but we’ve also been fighting the officials charged with providing an impartial process,” says Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, kaiarataki/CEO Te Runanga o Ngāti Ruanui Trust.

“The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment poor regulatory practice and bias toward Iwi and stakeholders means the Iron-sands exploration permit process was undermined from the start. Despite our protests, no one was listening at the time and we’ve now been proven right.

“Ngāti Ruanui was clearly one of the ‘issue motivated groups’ surveyed and regularly reported on, Ngāti Ruanui was the only active oil-and-gas protesting Iwi in Taranaki at the time.

“New Zealanders need to trust that those at the forefront of our democratic process will have a neutral view, instead of lobbying for private industry interests.”

The Inquiry Report completed by Doug Martin and Simon Mount QC clearly shows the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Primary Industries and Ministry of Social Development have all been sullied by these disgusting practices.

Ngarewa-Packer says the revelations bring in to question every decision the MBIE’s Petroleum and Minerals unit has ever made and makes the Crown Mineral process look corrupt.

The Government shouldn’t be acting as private security for the oil and mineral sector,” Ngarewa-Packer says.

“We need a full-scale review or even a full Crown Commission of enquiry of the New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals unit, full disclosure of all details and any consequential reviews. Tax-payers and Iwi need assurance that the Government can be trusted.”

Ngāti Ruanui will be assessing the possibilities for official complaints to appropriate services.

ENDS

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