Tauranga iwi fighting for the removal of the shipwreck Rena have accused the Crown of breaching the Treaty of Waitangi by failing to disclose details of five key reports on issues associated with the salvage of the wreck.
Residents of Motiti Island submitted supplementary closing submissions this week as part of Waitangi Tribunal proceedings following Rena's 2011 grounding at Astrolabe Reef.
The submissions detailed iwi concern at the Crown's conduct in failing to disclose the content of five key reports from London Offshore Consulting (LOC) during tribunal proceedings.
The closing submissions say the reports detail how full wreck removal of Rena could be possible and the ship owner's argument of salvage being too dangerous was negated when Cyclone Lusi moved the stern beyond possible reach of human divers.
Other, cheaper and safer, options were available for the salvage of Rena but those had not been explored or included as options by the wreck's owner, Daina Shipping Company, the submissions state.
They also say the reports show that potential contamination from the wreck's copper and paint during removal would not necessarily reach the levels of contamination expected if the wreck was left to sit where it was.
In the submission iwi alleged the Crown had predetermined its position and never actually intended to pursue full wreck removal.
"The LOC reports fundamentally contradict the reports commissioned by the wreck owner in support of the resource consent application.
"Not only did the Crown withhold highly relevant and crucial information from the tribunal and claimant parties, but it did so in direct contradiction to the tribunal's recommendations," the submission says.
An interim report into the Rena's future, from July 17, 2014, gave clear instruction to the Crown that it make the LOC Reports available to iwi immediately but iwi only received the reports when they were released online last month, the submission says.
Iwi spokesman Buddy Mikaere said iwi were concerned important information might have been kept from them.
He said iwi were now considering calling on London Offshore Consulting as witnesses during the court process.
Minister of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson said the Crown rejected the allegations and would be responding to them on Wednesday.
"It is not appropriate for me to comment further at this stage as the matter is currently before the tribunal."