Surfers, Fishers and Iwi Who Beat a Seabed Mine Twice

Trans-Tasman Resources sought consent to mine iron sands from the South Taranaki Bight, extracting up to 50 million tonnes of seabed a year for 35 years and returning the unwanted sediment to the water column, in an area used by the country's only resident population of blue whales and by Māori whose relationship with the moana is protected under Te Tiriti. Kiwis Against Seabed Mining formed as a volunteer coalition of surfers, scientists, fishers and families and has fought the proposal since 2013, alongside iwi and the Taranaki-Whanganui Conservation Board. On 30 September 2021 the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the company's appeal, holding that the decision-making committee had erred in law by failing to favour caution and environmental protection, in a judgment that also gave weight to tikanga Māori and set what commentators called a new high-water mark for seabed mining consent. When the proposal returned through fast-track legislation, KASM mobilised again.