A South Taranaki iwi is angry that a hearing to help determine whether seabed mining off Patea will go ahead will not be held in its rohe.
The Environmental Protection Authority has received almost 14,000 submissions on the project. Photo: Biosphoto / Michel Rauch
Trans Tasman Resources is seeking consent to mine ironsand from up to 66 square kilometres of seabed just off the coast near Patea.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui said the Environmental Protection Authority should review its decision not to hold a hearing in the most affected Patea/Hawera area.
Its kaiarataki, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, said some people from South Taranaki would find it too expensive to attend hearings in New Plymouth and Wellington.
Trans Tasman Resources has applied to mine millions of tonnes of ironsands over a 20-year period. It was unsuccessful with a similar application in 2014.
Almost 14,000 submissions have been made to the authority on the project, the most it has ever received.