Ngāi Tahu has launched a scathing attack on the Department of Conservation saying they had no confidence in the government department and it has “by far been the most challenging party to work with”. Ngāi Tahu Seafood Resources Ltd, which is 100% owned by Ngāi Tahu Holdings Ltd, the commercial and investment arm of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, has applied to build a large-scale salmon farming operation in Foveaux Strait, about 2km off the coast of Stewart Island. The Hananui Aquaculture Project, which is being processed under fast-track legislation, is estimated to contribute about $500 million in annual gross revenue, representing a 150% to 200% increase over current national salmon-farming export revenues. The fast-track process has reached the stage of draft consent conditions with Doc submitting it has concerns over management plans for sharks and seabirds. It wanted to be able to certify those two management plans along with Environment Southland. But that has led to a strong reply by the applicant. “The applicant has confidence in Environment Southland to undertake the role of certifier of management plans in a fair and consistent way,” the applicant said. “The same can not be said of Doc. The applicant’s experience in dealing with Doc is that, despite the no doubt earnest endeavours by several Doc officials, as an organisation Doc consistently demonstrates an inability to respond in a timely way, a consistent ability to surprise by bringing up new matters and generally acting in unpredictable ways.” "The applicant has no confidence that Doc would exercise a plan certification role fairly and reasonably.” The applicant said it had some positive interactions with Doc, but the engagement was also characterised by delays in response because of expert unavailability and unexpected twists and turns as different personnel contributed their input. “This included Doc raising new substantive matters when previous communications and advice to the panel convener had indicated that only minor matters remained outstanding. “This resulted in, at times, a high level of frustration for the applicant and a need to ‘reset’ the engagement process with Doc.” Ngāi Tahu Seafoods Ltd counsel Stephen Christensen said it was entirely inappropriate to have Doc involved in a plan certification role. He described Doc’s argument that it had consulted seabird and shark experts for advice as “extraordinary.” It pointed the finger at Doc in extensive engagement with key stakeholders. “By far the most challenging party to work with was Doc.” The fast-track process was introduced to secure approvals from Doc in a transparent and timely way, and care is needed not to impose certification conditions that effectively invite the same frustrations that the fast-track seeks to resolve, the applicant said. "Doc proposes a certification role that aligns with its usual operating philosophy — no accompanying timeframe within which it must work, no transparency as to the process it will follow, and no real opportunity for the applicant to do anything other than submit a plan and hope that Doc might turn it around in a reasonable timeframe, even though history would suggest this may not occur.” It also pushed back against a new condition sought by Doc around wildlife permits and bird flu. The Ministry for Primary Industries, not Doc, was co-ordinating the response to bird flu, so the applicant would comply with what MPI said. Doc regulatory systems performance director Lynn Hansberry said that as the application was currently before the expert panel for decision, it could not comment on the specific application. The Fast-track Approvals Act sets timeframes to ensure projects are dealt with as quickly as is reasonable in the circumstances, and the timeframes for specific projects set by the panel convenor and expert panels reflect this approach. Doc consistently met the timeframes required by the fast-track process, she said. The department also endeavoured to work constructively with all applicants throughout the fast-track process to ensure conservation values and impacts were appropriately addressed in applications.
