Kaipara Harbour Idiots Need Dealing To

We need electricity generating plants. The idea to use tidal forces to spin turbines and produce electricity seems like a great idea to me. In principle that is. I would imagine the technical issues in such a project would be formidable and those investing money need to be awarded a badge of courage. There’s been a group of such investors working for four years to get Environment Court approval to build a tidal turbine plant in the Kaipara Harbour. Four years. What would the cost of that be? Probably around a million or two a year or more. So there’s at least $4-$8 million spent on very little to start off with, and PEOPLE WONDER WHY THIS COUNTRY IS GOING BROKE.

But wait, there’s more. Now, after that long and costly struggle, there are still obstructions to the $600 million project getting underway. The Herald reports-

…the organisation representing Ngati Whatua hapu, Te Uri-o Hau Settlement Trust, is carrying on its opposition on environmental and cultural grounds. It is gaining support from a wide range of residents, including Kaipara Mayor Neil Tiller. After a meeting of more than 300 people at the Dargaville Town Hall, further gatherings are planned. A hui will be held at Te Hana on April 11 and another the next day at the Helensville War Memorial Hall.

This is too only a preliminary approval for the installation of three turbines with for two years of environmental monitoring and evaluation. A publicly notified review is supposed to be held after each stage of installation. The consent conditions demand that the development be halted and turbines removed if significant environmental effects are found. So the financiers are taking a damn big gamble as it is.

The hapu is understood to have already spent about $300,000 fighting the project through its “Environs subsidiary”. In other words taxpayer’s bloody money. Trust spokesman Mikaera Miru said, “People feel passionate there is no way they are going to put the turbines in the harbour. It will be further degraded when we are trying to restore its health.”

So after 4 years of hearings, and the conditions described above, still these bloody troglodytic idiots are not happy. They developers have agreed to stringent conditions that will result in millions of lost dollars if the turbines are ordered to be removed after the trials. What more do these whining bludging no hopers want? You can bet they’ll be working to arrange the usual headline grabbing activities. I hope the cops are there in force and that they jail anyone for five years who uses Bolshevik tactics to try and halt the development.

This country is broke and these bloody fools think they can still keep on milking the taxpayer and stymieing badly needed investment in critical infrastructure. If this project is stopped it should herald the cessation of all welfare payments in the Kaipara district. These people have to learn a few harsh lessons about where their welfare checks and “environs subsidiary” come from.

14 thoughts on “Kaipara Harbour Idiots Need Dealing To”

No doubt the same stone age troglodytes were afloat the other day protesting the drilling for black gold off the East Cape.

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Yep. When anyone tries to actually develop something is this country its immediately bogged down in bureaucratic overindulgence and litigation. . . meanwhile the Jappas are rebuilding already while in Chch we still have an army of bozos in hi-vis jackets standing around, acting officiously.

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Yes. What mystifies me is how the maoris became experts in all matters to do with the environment. I suspect a rort everytime maoris speak of protecting “ancestral food gathering grounds” etc.. I thought the major concern for the Iwi would be where the handiest KFC is to them.
The above and the protection of sea-snails and the like will always trash development opportunities in this country.

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Do never forget that all this hogwash is a direct result of the most blatant dilution of property rights in this country, the Resource Management Act, which was passed by a NATIONAL government.
This utterly corrupt legislation has set in train a self-perpetuating system that creates structures upon structures that will completely suffocate this entire country.
The only people to really blame for all this BS, are we ourselves, for not keeping our eye on the ball, and for having been so easily played out one against the other by every professional liar in the political and other power structures in this potentially great nation, which is now but a sordid morass of corruption, incompetence and defeatism.

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Sigh…it’s all bollocks. Hogwash. Socialist/racist crap.
The only answer, I fear, is for anybody with drive and ambition to leave NZ and allow the place to sink back into Polynesian ennui.

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The Herald story mentions snapper stocks and the Maui dolphin, both of which are closely monitored and will continue to be, so if claimed concern over these resources are real and justifiable any adverse effect will soon show up. Although not a fan of “renewable” energy, at least the underwater turbines present no visual pollution (unlike windfarms). Also, I do admire the promotors (assuming they’re using their own money, or money freely invested as risk capital) as reasonable output will be limited to an hour or so either side of the tide turning which will only occasionally coincide with peak demand, but at least this output is predictable.

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The thing is Jonno, the environmental aspects have been thrashed out in court over four years. If there was any serious danger to snapper or dolphins, one would reasonably expect it would have been dealt with there over that four year period. Either these protestors are full of bullshit or the Environmental Court and process is completely useless. Which one of those two options do you reckon is right?

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this reminds me why I left the area.

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@RB 13.16 yes I realise the environmental issues have been flogged to death, my point was that if there turned out to be unforeseen adverse consequences they would rapidly emerge as there’s already so much data. As for your question, can I have a bob each way? Was thinking the other day how much dodgy legislation has in fact originated from National, eg the RMA, lower drinking age, abortion, ETS, untreated timber, anti-smacking (refusal to act on referendum), foreshore act (I still don’t understand the implications of this but there’s clearly strong opposition from National’s constituency) & I’m sure there are more…

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We have quite a few problems around here with Paua poaching, surprise, surprise, the biggest offenders are the ones that wail and bleat and contend they are warriors for mother earth. Fuck when are we going to get real in this country and call these hypocritical wankers out, how many species did the great earth worshipers cause to become extinct. These arseholes are two faced bullshit artists. If they want to stop this development fine, take names, stop cheques. Point out that if they wish to live in a third world they should get some practice in.

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Yes Jonno, you can have a bob each way. Fair enough. 🙂

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Bez. Absolutely right! Nowhere in that statute are “private property rights” referred to. The provisions of the Act, and the rigid adherrence to its bullshit by council commandants, would make Stalin envious!

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