Petition is successful with 3,354 signatures
To: Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Taihoa on the water bottling plant planned for Murupara
Local iwi Ngāti Manawa have now decided not to go ahead with the water bottling project until they can guarantee the protection of the precious wai (water). https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503437&objectid=12273783
We ask that the Bay of Plenty Regional Council:
(1) Halt the proposed NZ Aquifer bottling facility in Murupara.
(2) Commence a public engagement process to determine the consensus of parties who are likely to be affected by the establishment of a large water bottling facility.
(3)Affected parties can be the following: local & absent landlords & ratepayers, individuals not aligned to any Iwi,business owners, all stakeholders,former residents, neighbouring iwi and hapu.
(4) Request that the applicant conduct a thorough study of all the implications of the water export industry on Murupara and surrounds (including but not limited to, environmental, economic, trade, regulatory and governance) prior to approving any water-export developments in Murupara.
(5) Publicly notify the resource consent application.
Why is this important?
New Zealand Aquifer, a private company trading as Murupara No 1 and Murupara No 2, in partnership with Te Runanga o Ngati Manawa and an as yet unknown foreign investor is proposing to construct a water-bottling plant in Murupara which would extract up to 18 million litres per day.[1]
The creation and expansion of a water export industry on Murupara could have severe and wide-reaching consequences for the management of this critically important public resource.
The petitioners ask that the Whakatane District Council cast a wide net to engage the community and the iwi in consultation and to conduct an environmental impact study prior to approving any water consent.
There has been no meaningful consultation done with whanau and hapu of Murupara, many of whom have real concerns about this proposal.
The company behind the project has a record of failed projects and it’s claims of ‘no impact’ is not realistic with such huge amounts of water being taken. The claims of 500 new jobs also seem exaggerated.[2,3]
We ask the Murupara Community Board to resource a community-wide consultation to provide a means by which local residents can contribute to and influence the discussion about this proposed venture.
Please support the Murupara community’s urgent request for full transparency and engagement to achieve the best outcome for our pure water source.
1 - Plans to build NZ's biggest water-bottling plant
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/11/plans-to-build-nz-s-biggest-water-bottling-plant.html
2- Missing history in bottling bonanza reports
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018622593/missing-history-in-bottling-bonanza-reports
3 - Ashburton council reneges on controversial water bottling deal
http://www2.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=11672314
4 - Director of water bottling plant has yet another attempt http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/director-of-water-bottling-plant-has-yet-another-attempt/
How it will be delivered
We will deliver this petition to Bay of Plenty Regional Council l in person.
Tihei Mauri Ora. Water is life.