Norske Skog s Tasman mill in Kawerau.
Photo: Norske Skog
Freshwater campaigner Tiipene Marr, of Ngāti Rangitihi, said owner Norske Skog should have to produce an environmental audit before it leaves.
The Norwegian company said it was aware of the environmental matters, and would meet all its obligations.
Marr and his family used to call the river the black drain - now they call it the brown drain . The whole Tasman site is totally contaminated, Marr said. It s been running for 66 years, polluting our river and polluting our people.
Marr said in the past workers got sick from exposure to Tasman mill contaminants, and he said he watched as diggers buried chlorine-contaminated sludge in nearby forests.
River clean up high on Rangitihi wish list 30 Jun 2021 08:24 AM Photo: Radio Waatea Image Database.
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Leith Comer: River clean up high on Rangitihi wish list
The chair of Te Mana o Ngati Rangitihi Trust says its settlement is now on the home straight, and he’s looking forward to the legislation being passed though parliament and work starting on cleaning up the Tarawera River.
The Maori affairs select committee has opened submissions on the bill.
Leith Comer says the proposed settlement got a vote of 92 per cent support from iwi members and it includes strong relationships with neighbouring iwi, so he doesn’t expect much opposition.
River clean up high on Rangitihi wish list waateanews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from waateanews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Glitter waka for art gallery entrance 12 May 2021 08:03 AM Photo: Scoop.
Auckland Art Gallery and Edmiston Trust have commissioned a major new sculpture from glitter king Reuben Paterson.
The 10-metre high waka made from more than 600 iridescent crystals will rise vertically out of the Gallery’s forecourt pool.
Paterson, from Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, and Tūhourangi, says it will navigate a spectacular journey from Papatūānuku into the embrace of Ranginui and cast a galaxy of stars over the pool.
It’s inspired by the story of a phantom waka that appeared at Lake Tarawera 10 days before the eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886.