Pātea Taranaki seabed mining: Waitangi Tribunal registers claim for urgent hearing into fast-track approval

The South Taranaki Coast where Trans-Tasman Resources is seeking consent to mine the seabed. Photo / NZME

By RNZ

The Waitangi Tribunal is considering a claim filed by south Taranaki iwi Ngāti Ruanui concerning a Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) shallow-seabed mining project approved under the Fast Track Approvals Act 2024.

Ngāti Ruanui has lodged an application for an urgent hearing asking the tribunal to investigate alleged breaches of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in the fast-track approvals process.

The tribunal says the claim has been added to the register but a hearing has not yet been granted and is still being considered.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui Trust Kaiwhakahāere Rachel Arnott said the legislation excluded iwi and hapū from meaningful engagement when it mattered most.

“The Government has failed comprehensively under fast-track to consult with tangata whenua, ignored the Supreme Court and is failing to apply the principles of Te Tiriti.

“Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and this Government is doing it all wrong.”

The tribunal will now consider whether the Government has breached Treaty of Waitangi principles and if it failed to sufficiently involve or consider rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga and the customary rights of Ngāti Ruanui.

The tribunal stated the iwi’s claim falls within the scope of the Natural Resources and Environmental Management kaupapa inquiry.

With Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui, other claimant groups include:

• All hapū of Ngāruahine iwi;
• Te Kura o Ngā Ruahine Rangi;
• Ruanui hapū including Ngāti Tupaea;
• Parihaka Papakainga Trust.

Groups outside Taranaki facing applications have also joined, including Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou ki Hauraki.

All eight Taranaki iwi have publicly opposed the seabed mining project.

In May, Ngā Iwi o Taranaki released a statement on behalf of the eight post-settlement governance entity iwi of Taranaki, voicing their support for South Taranaki iwi in their opposition to seabed mining off the coast of Pātea.

-RNZ