A mining company has withdrawn its application for fast-track approval to mine the Taranaki seabed, following a draft decision by an expert panel.
By Lillian Hanly of RNZ
Greens environment spokesperson Lan Pham said she was stoked to hear the news, and the company has "seen the writing on the wall".
Trans-Tasman Resources executive chairman Alan Eggers wrote on Thursday to the Environmental Protection Agency notifying it of TTR's decision to withdraw the project.
Earlier this month the fast-track panel declined its plans to mine 50 million tonnes of seabed a year for 30 years in the South Taranaki Bight.
In May last year, Eggers said it had identified a world-class vanadium resource that could contribute $1 billion annually to the economy.
The panel found there would be a credible risk of harm to Māui dolphins, kororā/little penguin and fairy prion.
Eggers told Capital Letter – a site providing court judgement summaries and updates on legislation – the decision to withdraw its application reflected the disappointment in the draft decision, and the fact TTR strongly disagreed with most of its assessments.
He said New Zealanders should feel disappointed, as a significant economic boost was being denied by the expert panel.
Pham said it was extraordinary, and called it another nail in the coffin, "thankfully".
"This is one of the zombie projects that have been resurrected under this Government's Fast Track bill, because it's been able to bypass so many of our usual environmental protections.
"The Government, if they are really serious about wanting to provide certainty to investors and companies, they'd get on and actually ban seabed mining."
Pham said it was "cowardly" the company wouldn't see out the full process, but said it was typical of overseas companies to "fish their projects around the world" to anyone willing to fall for it.
"This process, thankfully has seen through that, and the decision is really sound."
Pham confirmed the Greens remained committed to their position of revoking and repealing some of the worst projects that might get through the fast-track process.
She said, despite the draft decision to decline TTR, the process wasn't working as it should because it still side-stepped environmental protections. She was also concerned New Zealand First was still saying it would "stop at nothing to get ministerial decision making back into the fast-track process".
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa Packer also celebrated the withdrawal, calling it a "win" and the result of "years of fierce resistance from iwi, hapū, environmental advocates, legal teams, and whānau who refused to let our moana be sacrificed".
She said the victory belongs to "our people" but reminded people to stay vigilant.
"Let's not be distracted," she said, referring to discussions on critical minerals.
"On the very same day this application was withdrawn, Shane Jones announced an $80 million 'critical minerals' package opening the door for extractive industries under a new banner.
"Be warned Shane Jones will let them rebrand, regroup and reapply."
SHARE ME