Sand mining ‘cultural fees’ contested during hearing
The hearing was welcomed into Te Kiri Omaha Marae in Leigh.
Omaha Marae chair Annie Baines.
Kaipara Ltd managing director Steve Riddell and legal representative Morgan Slyfield.
Political manoeuvring among iwi and hapu took centre stage at a special hearing at Te Kiri Omaha Marae in Leigh. The hearing was for Kaipara Ltd’s application to extend its consent to extract sand offshore from Pakiri.
Omaha Marae chair Annie Baines told commissioners that Kaipara Ltd had been withholding its “cultural liaison fee” for a year, without the knowledge of the marae.
As part of Kaipara Ltd’s consent, 17 years ago, it had agreed to pay 50 cents for each cubic metre of sand extracted, worth $2 million over the 20-year period. Half was paid to the Ngati Wai Settlement