3 Oct 2012

Make resource consents culturally safe - critic

8:47 am on 3 October 2012

A Rotorua resident battling plans for a rubbish transfer station in his suburb hopes an Environment Court case will force all councils to carry out cultural assessments on proposals which need resource consents.

John Tapiata says consent given for a multinational business to build a refuse transfer station in the suburb of Ngapuna would never have happened if local government had adhered to the wishes of local Maori.

Mr Tapiata lives in the suburb and has filed an appeal in the Environment Court over a consent given to Transpacific Industries Group to build the facility on the site of a former petrol station.

He's disappointed that neither the Rotorua District Council nor the Bay of Plenty Regional Council carried out a cultural impact assessment of the area.

Mr Tapiata says he's hasn't a problem with the idea of building a refuse transfer station, but it should be built where there are no culturally significant sites.

He hopes his appeal to the Environment Court will result in all councils having to carry out cultural assessments on proposals which need resource consent.