Tauranga MP wants agreement between port and iwi

Whareroa Marae environment spokesperson Joel Ngatuere says there's been a significant decline in the health of both the harbour and his community. Photo: RNZ / Jean Bell.

Tauranga's new MP is calling on the Port of Tauranga and local iwi to come to an agreement on how the port can expand.

Sam Uffindell wants the expansion to happen urgently saying the port has little more than two years of capacity left.

But the neighbouring marae says doing so would harm its community even further and Whareroa Marae environmental spokesperson Joel Ngatuere wants heavy industry to move from the area.

Whareroa Marae sits at the edge of Tauranga Harbour, encircled by an industrial area that's crept up to its back fence.

On one side there's the airport, on the other a motorway, and out back, the Port of Tauranga and a tank farm.

Whareroa Marae environment spokesperson Joel Ngatuere said his community - and the harbour - were being made very sick, and blamed emissions from the industrial area.

"We know that we've had two of our kaumatua that have died from related symptoms from exposure to these chemicals. The other end we've got kids that are having asthma attacks, we've got people getting sore eyes, throat, mouth, we've got people struggling to breathe. We've got high respiratory problems," says Joel.

Last year, the marae called for a managed retreat of heavy industry from the area.

In 2019, the air quality over the Mount Maunganui industrial area was classed as polluted and a working group set up to look at how to improve it.

But the Port of Tauranga is still looking to expand and that has ahi kaa of Whareroa Marae worried.

"They already know that we are struggling and fighting for our survival, yet they've gone ahead and they want to push ahead and bring ships within 200 metres of our marae. So if we look at what impact is that going to have on us, it's not just our health. You know, it's cultural genocide," says Joel.

Already one of the country's biggest, the Port of Tauranga has applied to dredge 1.8 million cubic metres from the harbour floor, and extend its wharf by nearly a kilometre.
Port of Tauranga

Port of Tauranga. Photo: RNZ / Joanne O'Brien.

It also wants to reclaim five hectares of land at Sulphur Point.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council, in a state of the environment report, says there has been a noticeable decline in kaimoana in the harbour.

Ngāi Te Rangi Trust chief executive Paora Stanley had seen this happen.

"Lots of horse mussels which were prevalent around here are gone, scallops gone, and in addition, a lot of the traditional pipi beads are gone now," says Paora.

The Port of Tauranga declined to comment, saying it was waiting on its resource consent process currently before the Environment Court.


Paora Stanley. Photo: RNZ / Justine Murray.

Poara says he had been trying to negotiate with the port company for six months, with no success.

"I think there's a way through it where we can get a monitored process working on side of both the port and ourselves but we've got to enter this fully and wholesomely. And in this moment in time, our end are saying I've tried for six months to try and resolve this and keep it out of court and try and resolve it in the background and nothing's come about. So ok, let's take the gloves off and start scrapping."

Earlier this month, Paora wrote to the board of Port of Tauranga threatening to take the matter to the Waitangi Tribunal if grievances were not resolved.

He also would not rule out a possible blockade of the country's busiest port.

Rawiri Waititi, MP for Waiariki which covers Tauranga, said he would back that.

"If it goes ahead that is just total disregard for the mana of tangata whenua. If we go to Article 2 [of the Treaty of Waitangi] where we were to be undisturbed of our estates, of our rivers, of our oceans, of our mountains and of our land and of our taonga - 2022 and we're still breaching the contract that validates for these systems to be able to operate here in Aotearoa.


Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell wants the expansion to get under way. Photo: Supplied.

Meanwhile, Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell is encouraging both sides to come to an agreement.

He urgently wants the expansion to get under way.

"It's got about two-and-a-half years capacity left. It takes two years to build that third berth so we need to speed up the process to make this happen. We need this to proceed not just for Tauranga and the region but for the country, he said.

The Port of Tauranga declined to comment on Ngāi Te Rangi's letter.

Submissions on the proposed expansion closed on Friday and a date for the Environment Court hearing is yet to be set.

Ashleigh McCaull/RNZ

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10 comments

Come on

Posted on 28-07-2022 09:39 | By an_alias

My kids have asthma and its not the ports fault. My friends in Hamilton have it way worse for asthma, you going to blame the port for that as well ? We should just read, "we want you to pay us some money"


Hmmm

Posted on 28-07-2022 09:58 | By Let's get real

A downturn in food resources available from the harbour... I wonder why...? Could it possibly be that increased population is resulting in an increased take...? To blame industrial activities for the demise of scallops in particular is grasping at straws to find an excuse to put your hand out for funding to set up a monitoring group. As with Watergate, always follow the money when it comes to denying progress and development.


It's Easy To Make Threats

Posted on 28-07-2022 12:06 | By FRANKS

Threats of blockades and "take it to the Waitangi Tribunal" achieve nothing other than a "spoilt brat" award. The port expansion is essential for the benefit of the whole country.


We all want

Posted on 28-07-2022 12:35 | By Kancho

An agreement but this is lining up to cripple import and exporting and will further hit the economy. Our GDP is low and our costs high so every export dollar is sort needed to prop up the economy. Guess the result will be stalemate as living by the sea in a simple village is more important. Roll back to a simpler time and a far more basic style of living


Who Else

Posted on 28-07-2022 15:00 | By Yadick

In the area, apart from the marae is being affected by this 'industrial air' or is it possible the marae are the only ones affected. I'm leaning very heavily to agree with an_alias.


Hard done by?

Posted on 28-07-2022 15:47 | By Wundrin

I suspect so. It would seem the marae was established on this spot in the 1870's, and has been squeezed and its amenities compromised ever since. Who would want to have a port, a major road, an airport and (most significantly) a fertilizer works pop up next to their property? In this case I don't think it's about money...


@ Wundrin...........

Posted on 28-07-2022 20:56 | By groutby

....ok then, so if it's the location of the marae that is really at the centre of the issue, let part of the agreement be to fund its relocation with all it's health benefits ( and compensation of course)....move it....get on with the expansion and move on!!....at this rate we are going seriously backwards economically.....to expect industry to move is simply and surely not going to happen, we need to be progressive..........


Summarizing...

Posted on 29-07-2022 19:05 | By morepork

1. People on the marae are getting sick and the culprit is suspected to be the Port. See if the statistics are significantly different from people on other maraes NOT near a Port. If they are, then the marae needs to be moved whether the Port expands or not. At the same time serious effort must happen to curb the pollution. There are reasons why land is zoned to be industrial OR residential, not both...2. Decline in Kaimoana. The port is just one of many contributors to the environmental disturbance that is causing this globally. Population has also increased, with consequent increase in harvesting. 3. The need to expand the Port is pressing and it affects many more people that just the marae. An unfortunate reality is that no minority (even if they have some justification) can be allowed to obstruct or stifle the advantage of the Nation.


Article 2. (Part 1)

Posted on 29-07-2022 19:20 | By morepork

As referenced in the article, Article 2 of the Waitangi Treaty DOES guarantee the right of Maori to have, own, and enjoy their lands without interference, "so long as it is their wish to retain them in their possession." However, there is also a right of pre-emption which means if the tribe decide to sell, they MUST sell to the Crown at an agreed and fair price. This was intended to protect Maori from con-men and carpet-baggers obtaining their lands for unjust prices. Queen Victoria made this promise and it was intended in good faith, for the good of Maori people. 162 years later Victoria is gone, the Crown owns much of the land, and the world is a very different place. Only if the iwi actually owns the land the marae is on, can they invoke Article 2.


Article (Part 2)

Posted on 29-07-2022 19:41 | By morepork

If the iwi invoke Article 2, it would be for a Court to decide whether this can stand in today's world. There are strong arguments pro and con. Can an agreement made nearly 200 years ago, with all the participants long dead, be allowed to hinder the development of a rising young nation that will have benefits for ALL, including Maori? What would Victoria say, today? What would the Rangatiras who signed it say today? As the current NZers we should be working together to find a viable solution that advances the nation and does not leave iwi dispossessed, in the spirit of goodwill, engendered in the original Treaty. It won't be done by squabbling and looking for the maximum handout. It will require common sense, fairness, and justice on all sides, and should be part of the model we will employ for the future.


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