Greenpeace activists have occupied the Wellington offices of the mining lobby group Straterra to protest plans to Fast Track its client Trans-Tasman Resources’ seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight.
Three activists have locked themselves inside the building, and two more have climbed onto an awning at the front of the building to deploy a large ‘No Seabed Mining’ banner.
Greenpeace says this action is “a demonstration of the resistance promised” in a recently published open letter to all companies considering using the Fast Track Approvals process. More than 7,500 people have signed on to the letter so far.
A second company seeking consent for seabed mining in the area has just confirmed they are voluntarily withdrawing, citing regulatory uncertainty as one of the reasons, along with the emergence of an offshore wind energy generation proposal that would be incompatible with the seabed mining industry.
Greenpeace says that’s evidence that the pressure is working.
Australian mining company TTR is vying to mine 50 million tons of iron sands in the South Taranaki Bight every year for 30 years. The company has made no secret of the fact it will use the much-maligned Fast Track Bill to get a green light after years of opposition by Taranaki hapū, environmentalists, the fishing industry and marine mammal experts.
Greenpeace Aotearoa spokesperson Juressa Lee says, “We’re taking this action to highlight the danger that Trans-Tasman Resources may slip through the Fast Track process, despite years of community opposition and rejection by the courts.
“We’re also highlighting the role played by the mining industry lobbyist Straterra, which has the ear of this government and is pushing this extractive, polluting project.
“Straterra is a malignant force in New Zealand politics, operating in the shadows and backrooms to exert a pernicious influence over Government policies. Straterra’s stated objectives would shock all New Zealanders who value the natural world and a healthy democracy.
“Today, we will drag Straterra’s dirty business into the sunlight and expose their malevolent intentions for all to see.
“TTR has tried and failed for more than a decade to get approval to mine the seabed because it was never able to show that it wouldn’t cause substantial harm to the environment. If seabed mining is fast tracked, it will be in contempt of all expert advice and the wishes of local iwi, environmental groups, Taranaki communities and the 60,000 New Zealanders who have signed the petition calling for it to be banned.”
Lee says it’s clear that even the coalition’s own supporters are against the Fast Track too.
Recent Horizon Research polling shows that 55% of NZ First supporters do not support the Fast Track Bill, an increase from 36% of respondents in May 2024.
“The Luxon coalition government needs to stop listening to Straterra and start listening to their constituency, and the broader public that are saying they do not want seabed mining, and they do not want seabed mining fast tracked.”
Images can be downloaded here.
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