Maori issues cited as wind farm declined

NO TURBINES: 'We're not opposed to wind farms, we understand the need for renewable energy. ... But not on this site.' - Tania Hopmans.

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An application to build a wind farm near Napier has been declined for the second time by the Environment Court because the site is spiritually significant to Maori.

The Hawke's Bay-based powerline company Unison applied to add 34 turbines to 15 already approved for a site on Te Waka Range near Te Pohue, on the Napier-Taupo Road.

The application was opposed by iwi groups Ngati Hineuru and Maungaharuru-Tangitu Society and the Hawke's Bay Outstanding Landscape Preservation Society.

The application was heard before principal environment judge John Bollard and two commissioners in the Environment Court at Napier last December. It followed a previous application for 37 turbines on the same site that was declined. The latest application had been the subject of a ministerial call-in under the previous government, and had proceeded directly to the Environment Court instead of being reheard by the district council.

In his decision, Judge Bollard said the submissions by tangata whenua were credible and sincere. Consent conditions suggested by the lines company would not recognise their concerns, or take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The judge said he and the commissioners were obliged to consider the reasons for former environment minister Trevor Mallard calling the application in, and had weighed up the need for renewable energy with recognising Maori values.

"We are driven to conclude in the end that the Maori dimension is such that Unison's application, however merited in technical terms, must yield to the force of the case presented for the tangata whenua interests," the judge said.

He also noted the proposal's effect on the site's outstanding natural quality, and said he may have considered a modified proposal of 15 to 20 turbines more appropriate, had the iwi opposition not been so compelling.

Maungaharuru-Tangitu spokeswoman Tania Hopmans was pleased with the judge's strong comments on the site's value to Maori. "If you frequent Hawke's Bay marae or if you have Maori friends here, you will know the huge importance of this maunga [mountain] to the people here. I think Unison could have understood this some time ago," she said.

Unison was poor at consultation and appeared to have approached iwi as an afterthought. "We're not opposed to wind farms, we understand the need for renewable energy," she said. "But not on this site. This is our sacred mountain. We are duty-bound to protect it."

Unison chief executive Ken Sutherland said the decision sent a "seriously disconcerting signal" to companies trying to undertake environmentally friendly energy production.

"On this basis, there will need to be legislative change adopted for such schemes to succeed."

Mr Sutherland said Unison and its business partner, Tasmanian-based developer Roaring 40s, had spent significant sums trying to get consent for the wind farm. "It is a missed opportunity to provide electricity for the equivalent of 50,000 homes and is a cost to the community. This means that $800 million worth of clean, readily accessible energy will be wasted."

LONG WINDED

AUGUST 2005: Unison granted consent by Hastings District Council to build 15 turbines at Titiokura/Te Waka.

NOVEMBER 2005: Unison applies to Hastings District Council for a further 37 turbines. Decision granted in June 2006. Decision appealed against by tangata whenua and others.

APRIL 2007: Environment Court declines consent for the 37 turbines, with Judge Craig Thompson finding the cumulative visual effect of the proposal, added to 75 to be built nearby by Hawke's Bay Windfarms, would be excessive in a sensitive and distinctive landscape.

AUGUST 2007: Unison applies again for resource consent, this time to build 34 turbines. Application called in by environment minister Trevor Mallard.

MONDAY: Application declined by the Environment Court.

SACRED PLACE

Hapu Ngati Hineuru and Marangatuketaua (Ngati Tu) regard Te Waka Range as their sacred mountain and it features in much of their tribal lore.

It is identified as the waka of Nga Rangi Kataka, an uncle of Maui.

The waka was left stranded when Maui fished the North Island from the sea.

Among other legends is one concerning Mateawha, the wife of Tauira. She threw herself off a cliff on the western side of the range, leaving bloodstains on the rock face.

Since that time, whenever the stain glows red, it signifies a bad omen foretelling death or disaster. In certain sunlight conditions, the rock face appears particularly red.