The owners and insurer's application to leave the Rena wreck on Astrolabe Reef.

UPDATE 10.30AM: The Crown submission on the Rena resource consent application calls for partial removal of the wreckage on Astrolabe Reef down to 30 metres.

The Crown's all-of-government submission lodged with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council today opposes leaving the remaining bow section on the top of the reef and any associated parts of the wreck down to the recreational dive limit of 30 metres.

The bow section of the wreck before being cut down to below low tide level on Astrolabe Reef.

A 3-D image of the remains of the Rena and how they lie on Astrolabe Reef.

Earlier this year the ship's owners and insurers Daina Shipping and The Sweedish Club lodged a resource consent application to leave the remains of the wreck on the reef.

Today is the last day for submissions on the application.

During a press conference at Parliament today Attorney General Christopher Finlayson said the Crown had considered a number of factors in reaching its position.

'We considered the environmental, cultural and economic interests of New Zealand and the likely cost and feasibility of the complete removal of the wreck, including international comparisons.

'We also looked very carefully at the health and safety of salvors working in the wreck below 30m and also considered the effect of the proposed consent on the social environment. We carefully considered through this process the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.”

|In light of these considerations the Crown will oppose part of the resource consent and wants the bow section and debris field in shallow waters down to 30m removed as thoroughly as possible.

'These parts of the wreck raise concerns about impacts on the natural character and environment of the area, and have cultural and health and safety consequences.

'We think it's in the interests of everyone that part of the wreck is removed, we want debris down to 30 metres removed.”

The bow section sitting on Astrolabe Reef in a photo taken in late 2013.

The government has concerns about debris in the field - particularly a container with plastic beads and some copper it believes is unacceptable and must be removed. It is understood the containers lie in the 30m field.

But the government does not believe the sunken stern section that moved further down the reef in Cyclone Lusi in March and is now sitting at a depth of 70 metres should go.

'We don't think taking into account health and safety concerns, which are particularly a concern following the Pike River disaster, that that aspect of the wreck should be removed, and can stay where it is.”

The submission strikes a 'balance between concerns about the wreck remaining on the reef, and the risks including health and safety for workers at that depth and the risk of damage to the reef, and cost of full wreck removal of the lower sections in deeper water”, says the government.

A salvage cost for removing the bow section is yet to be estimated, says the minister but he expects full cost of removing it should be with the owners.

'They are the ones that drove the ship on the reef at full-speed ahead and they are the ones who should clean it up.”

The submission does seek a tighter set of consent and monitoring conditions on the sunken stern section below 30m. Watch underwater footage of the wreck site here.

The containership Rena struck Astrolabe Reef in the early hours of October 5, 2011, creating the New Zealand's biggest maritime disaster. The ship subsequently broke up discharging fuel oil and cargo much of which washed up on Bay of Plenty beaches.

The Government submission comes just a month after its handling of the negotiations with the Rena's owners and insurers was slammed by the Waitangi Tribunal.

The Tribunal found the government breached the Treaty of Waitangi in signing agreements with the owners and insurers without consulting the nearest residents on Motiti Island who regard the reef as a ‘taonga'.

The Tribunal found the Crown failed to actively protect Maori and their taonga, and that the Crown breached the Treaty principles of good faith and partnership.

'Motiti Maori are an isolated island community in an especially vulnerable position,” says the Waitangi Tribunal decision.

'The Tribunal considered that they would bear the brunt of what seem likely to be significant adverse cultural and environmental effects if the wreck is allowed to remain on the reef.”

Finlayson said today the Government's submission was not in response to the Waitangi Tribunal findings as the government had been working on the issue for some time.

The submission does specifically support the ongoing consultation of iwi throughout the consent period.

Motiti Island residents were yet to be informed of the submission as it was only lodged this morning, said Finlayson.

What is not addressed in the submission is whether the government approach will jeopardise the $10.4 million the owners and insurers agreed to pay in the deeds of settlement signed with the owners and insurers without iwi consent.

The company was to pay $27.6 million to settle the claims of the Crown and other public bodies, including Maritime New Zealand and the Bay of Plenty District Health Board. Daina Shipping would pay a further $10.4m for "public purposes" if the Crown supported a resource consent application by the owners to leave the wreck on the reef.

Finlayson said he was "completely indifferent" to the $10.4m government would receive if the application to leave the wreck is supported. The total cleanup was estimated to cost about $47m, leaving a shortfall of about $20m based on the negotiated settlement.

The Government is looking at options to ensure this situation does not arrive again.

Submissions on the resource consent application currently before Bay of Plenty Regional Council close today.

It is understood the application will likely go to the Environment Court.