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The fight for iron sands: the bitter battle to protect New Zealand’s sea-floor riches
(www.theguardian.com)
Ah yes, the fast track to corruption bill is rearing its ugly head. Weather you agree with seabed mining or not, political corruption is not welcome.
In recent years, opposition groups including local iwi, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and other environmental organisations have succeeded in delaying mining consent through Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearings and court cases. In 2021, TTR lost its supreme court bid to overturn a decision preventing it from gaining consent to mine.
But opposition efforts could be at risk from a new challenge: a pro-mining government pushing through a controversial law that could see mining projects fast-tracked for approval across the country – a process TTR says it is exploring, after withdrawing from the latest EPA hearing.