wi Leaders, Runanga Chairpersons, Natural Resource managers, Activist groups and concerned individuals
E nga Rangatira tena koutou katoa
The government is embarking upon an aggressive national minerals extraction programme that has serious implications for Maori land, conservation land and the marine environment. A number of iwi throughout the country including Te Whanau a Apanui, Ngapuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngati Kahu, Te Arawa, Ngati Porou, and Ngai Tahu have expressed extreme concern and in some cases taken direct action to protect the environmental integrity of their tribal territories.
To add insult to injury and hard on the heels of the discriminatory Coastal and Marine ACT, the present government is considering a new bill to be called the Exclusive Economic Zone and Extended Continental Shelf ACT which will alienate the marine area from the 12 mile limit out to the 200 mile limit of the economic exclusion zone.
In effect this new legislation will be a rerun of the Foreshore and Seabed disgrace, and is contrary to the rights and guarantees contained within Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
In addition the recently established the Environmental Protection Agency will fast track “projects of national significance” and the EPA will allow by-pass the requirements in the RMA to consult with Maori and this is of great concern to many Iwi Maori organizations and interest groups.
If this is not enough, the government is also secretly negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) with a number of Pacific Rim countries, which will provide the opportunity for multi national companies to avoid NZ regulations and seek compensation from NZ taxpayers for any obstacles to their ability to extract profits from our natural resources.
Therefore I would like to invite representatives of your organization to attend a national hui to be held at Nga Whare Watea Marae, Mangere, Tamaki Makarau 29th -31st of July to consider this situation and develop a national response to these issues.
In reflection it is instructive to consider the national Maori response to the Foreshore and Seabed issue whereby over 40,000 concerned Maori demonstrated against the governments refusal to allow Maori to contest the governments arbitrary confiscation of the marine area out to the 12-mile limit. The government’s response was to ignore Maori concerns. In stark contrast, when the government proposed to allow mining in schedule 4 protected conservation land, 50,000 citizens demonstrated against the policy and the policy was immediately dropped.
As a result this national hui will also engage with a number of environment NGO’s and concerned community groups to develop a united strategy to address these issues of mutual concern.
Date: 29th-31st July 2011
Venue: Nga Whare Watea Marae
31 Calthorp Close Mangere
Powhiri: 4.00pm Friday 29th July 2011
No rei ra rau rangatira ma, e nga iwi o nga moutere o Aotearoa nau mai haere mai whakapiripiri mai!
na Mike Smith
Ngapuhi – Ngati Kahu
National Political Advisor, Greenpeace Aotearoa.
Ph. 021 504486
email: michael.smith@greenpeace.o
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