The long-running battle against seabed mining in South Taranaki continues, with local iwi celebrating a recent win but already preparing for the next challenge.
Te Pāti Māori MP Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, a long-time advocate in the fight, reflected on the significance of the struggle
“It’s huge, I think for our iwi, for our whanau, for everyone. It dates the long battle 14-15 years I think and adding on hours to it, and shows that they shouldn’t have been trying to get in and fast tracking something like this was just tino hē,” Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said.
“This is where it started and all iwi were a part of this battle but this is actually where we scrapped and not a lot of people knew what this was in 14, 15 years ago and yea we got a lot a heat,” she said.
She also pointed to recent government moves that she believes are attempts to provide a new pathway for miners: “What it means is that they’ve now named two of the minerals that seabed mining would have gotten in as critical minerals it’s apart of a relationship they are looking to do with the US and that’s why i said to everybody we take this win and then we need to continue on with what it is they’re going to try and push.”
“We need to get a member’s bill out and we need to use this as leverage to this period to actually ask all those campaign parties, all those campaigning MP’s, so are you going to fight against Seabed Mining.”
Te manawanui o te iwi ki te tiaki i tōna moana
Ko te iwi o Ngaruahinerangi e tū tonu ana ki te tautoko i tēnei pakanga ki ngā mahi keri oneone i te moana, ā, e titiro whakamua ana ki ngā rautaki hei aukati i te kaupapa puta noa i te motu.
“E harikoa ana mātou o Ngaruahine, ēngari ko tērā pea te mahi nui i tēnei wā ko te whakanui i a mātou nei whānanaunga mō o rātou puku mahi, a rātou tino ū ki tēnei kaupapa,” he ai ki a Te Aorangi Dillon, Tumu Whakarae o Te Korowai o Ngaruahinerangi.
“Tino pai tērā, nā te mea ehara i te mea kei te aro mātou ki o mātou takiwa noaiho, e ai ki ngā kōrero ka tau atu tēnei kaupapa ki takutai kē puta noa i te motu nā reira i tēnei wā he pai tēnei mōmō mahi,” hei tāna anō.
“Kua kōrero kē mātou mō tēnei ahuatanga nā reira i kī ngā kaumatua kaua e noho noa i tēnei wā me mātara tonu tātou, kei nā kawanatanga ngā rauemi me kī ki te tini i te ture, ēra ahuatanga nā reira me matara tōnu tātou kāore āno mātou kua mutu pū ana i tēnei kaupapa”.
Hei whakamutunga, e rua ngā ara nui e whai ana rātou i tēnei wā: “Koinei tētahi ara ki te aukati i ēnei mōmō mahi, tuarua me pōti tātou tēnei tau me ngana tātou ki te hōpu i ngā rangatahi, i ngā tangata kāore e whakapono ana ki te pōti i tēnei wā koira tētahi o a mātou ake rautaki”.