The Government has responded to the Supreme Court decision which puts a halt on the Ruataniwha Dam by claiming wrongly that the protected land was of low quality and by stating that a law change, possibly retrospective, will occur.
The Crown is seeking to overturn the Court of Appeal decision obtained by Forest and Bird which is preventing Conservation land in the Hawkes Bay from being used for the controversial Ruataniwha dam.
I/S at No Right Turn writes: If the ruling stands, it won’t just kill the dam, but also National’s policy of trying to crack open reserves for development through an ideology of “net conservation gain”.
The Chair of the Environmental Defence Society has heavily criticised the Ruataniwha Dam process for requiring the voluntary sector to test the scientific evidence, for requiring the analysis of highly technical scientific evidence within a very short time period, and for not including a freshwater expert on the Board of Inquiry. He has described the process as being fundamentally flawed and has stated that the process appears to be designed to facilitate the granting of consents. There is something wrong going on here.
The Ruataniwha Dam issue raises a number of issues, from a Board of Inquiry without scientific expertise being selected, a DOC submission inviting the Board to get more information and seek a peer review being dumped, submitters not being able to access the site, a model which NIWA is refusing to allow to be analysed, and a GNS Science contract being terminated because the scientists wanted a disclaimer inserted into their report. There is something fishy going on here.
