Planned protest march hampered by red tape
Former National MP Nuk Korako is chair of the tangata tiaki (marine guardian) leadership group, based out of Rāpaki.
He is planning a hikoi (march) to protest what many in his Ngāti Wheke hapū view as the destruction of the harbour's ecosystem, and to demand an end to the land reclamation.
Tangata tiaki are appointed by the Primary Industries Minister to be caretakers for customary fishing areas like Lyttelton Harbour.
Korako's hikoi will travel from Lyttelton to a gathering point above Te Awaparahi Bay, which has the best view of the reclamation area.
A locked gate along Old Sumner Lyttelton Rd, off Sumner Rd, is blocking the planned route and has caused the tangata tiaki to delay the protest from July 20 until November.
'I want to do this by the book but we shouldn't have all these bureaucratic barriers,' said Korako.
He has been engaging with the city council for several months to see if the gate can be unlocked or removed and allow the march through.
'There seems to be confusion over whose role it is to solve this for us. Is it the council or community board?' Korako said.
LPC chief customer and supply chain officer Simon Munt said the port company is working with the city council to find a 'safe way to reopen it without posing any risk to safety'.
LPC did not comment on the planned protest specifically when asked by The Star .
City council staff were unable to comment on the matter before deadline.
The Te Awaparahi Bay reclamation project is expanding port land for future container terminal operations.
A piled wharf will be constructed, totalling about 24ha of reclaimed land.
A new, 7ha phase of the reclamation is under way in the bay.
Korako and the other marine guardians believe the reclamation is causing a decrease in the harbour's marine species and destroying the natural coastal ecosystem.
'The reclamation has very detrimental effects to mahinga kai (food gathering) and we're concerned about the disruptions to water flow. It's a travesty what's happening,' said Korako.
He and the other tangata tiaki have engaged an environmental lawyer and have been considering legal action against LPC over the project.
The delayed march comes as LPC has breached its consent for the reclamation and associated works twice in the past month.
Environment Canterbury is monitoring the reclamation work and on two occasions, on July 29 and last Thursday, sediment was observed beyond the consented area at Te Awaparahi Bay.
LPC acting chief infrastructure and marine officer acting chief Alistair Boyce said the July 29 breach was due to an 'extreme weather event involving large swell and wave energy, which resulted in the discharge that took place'.
Boyce said LPC takes its commitments under the consent very seriously.
'We are currently reviewing and scoping ways of managing the project in such conditions.'
LPC received a warning from ECan for the July 29 breach while a course of action following the breach last Thursday is yet to be determined, said ECan coastal response and readiness lead Emma Parr.
'We will continue to work closely with the environmental team at Lyttelton Port Company to encourage best practice and to avoid or minimise potential adverse effects from the project,' she said.
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