Ngāti Ruanui man Rukutai Watene has delivered a “trespass notice” to mining company Trans-Tasman Resources and its parent company, Manuka Resources.
The action is the latest in a multi-year saga of mining applications, court rulings and protest, and it follows the withdrawal of the application for fast-track approval to mine the Taranaki seabed on February 19.
In an edited video supplied by Greenpeace, a camera follows Watene and Peeti Wharehoka-Watene into the offices of Trans-Tasman Resources. They wait outside a glass-panelled room alongside seabed mining campaigner Juressa Lee and three supporters from Greenpeace holding up yellow banners with anti-mining slogans.
A man exits the room and asks them to leave, saying: “Otherwise I’ll ring the police for trespassing.”
A measured back and forth between Lee and the man ensues before he returns to the room, and Watene proceeds to give a speech, placing a folded piece of paper on top of the door handle.
“I’m here to issue a trespass notice to Trans-Tasman Resources, Manuka Resources, on behalf of Ngāti Ruanui that your deep-sea mining, your seabed mining is not welcomed or wanted in Taranaki. Ngāti Ruanui and other iwi of Taranaki strongly object to your behaviour. Kia ora,” Watene says.
In a statement, Greenpeace said the notice was served “peacefully”, a claim which Alan Eggers, executive chair of Trans-Tasman Resources, disputed. He said: “The 12 intruders burst into our private offices uninvited and posted their propaganda on our building walls and doors.”
Eggers said the actions by the group were “intimidatory” and “very loud” which staff found “confronting and upsetting”.
He added that Trans-Tasman Resources had every right to run its business and “will continue to do so”.
Watene said they were sending a clear message that seabed mining was “not wanted or needed” in Aotearoa.
“We’ve fought Trans-Tasman Resources multiple times since 2014 and we’ve won every time, even at the Supreme Court. Article two of Te Tiriti o Waitangi guarantees Māori authority over our taonga. We will protect Papatūānuku (mother earth), from the maunga (mountain) to the moana (sea). Seabed mining won’t ever take place on our watch.”
Lee said the action served as a warning to the company to stay away or “expect resistance”.
“The message from iwi, Taranaki locals, environmental groups and the New Zealand public has been united and clear for decades: no seabed mining is welcome in Aotearoa.
“Trans-Tasman Resources has a habit of ditching official processes when they don’t go their way and exploring other ‘easier’ avenues to resurrect their zombie project. We’re here to say any attempt to start seabed mining in Aotearoa – whatever avenues or workarounds mining companies try to use – will face strong resistance.”
It’s the second time Watene, Wharehoka-Watene and Greenpeace activists have visited headquarters to protest seabed mining. In 2024, they disrupted Manuka Resources’ AGM to explain their stance against seabed mining to company shareholders.
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