The Fast Track Approvals Act is supposed to be a panacea for development. But as Port Otago and a leading logistics company are finding out it is far from smooth sailing because of one issue – the requirement in the Act to consult with iwi, and then to probably to pay them for the privilege.
The story goes like this.
Port Otago, owned by the Otago Regional Council, operates from Port Chalmers, twelve kilometers outside Dunedin along a windy and narrow coastal road. There is a rail link but most of the freight to and from the port is transported by road.
Dynes Transport, headed by the entrepreneurial Peter Dynes, has formed a joint venture with Port Otago to build Southern Link Logistics Park on forty hectares of land, adjacent to the railway line at Mosgiel, just south of Dunedin.
Southern Link would be an inland port, a place where goods are brought to from their place of production to be loaded into containers and then transported to the ship - mostly by train. Conversely inland ports are where containers are brought to for unpacking and distribution after unloading from the ship.
Because inland ports are built on large tracts of flat land they’re not constrained for space by the often small narrow coastal strips around a seaport. They’re a vital part of the country’s supply chain infrastructure.
The land that Southern Link is planned for was formerly a privately owned farm. Peter Dynes bought it for his company with a view to building the inland port there.
As he sees it it’s a no brainer. It would take 19,000 truck movements off the streets of Dunedin and the road to Port Chalmers each year meaning less traffic congestion and road damage.
It would also encourage industrial and production investment in the region on land prices considerably cheaper than the usual going rate of $650 a square metre over the hill in Dunedin itself.
The Dynes and Port Otago Southern Link JV have applied for consent to go ahead under the Fast Track Approvals Act which has as its stated purpose “to facilitate the delivery of infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits.”
The land that Peter Dynes bought for the inland port was never part of the Ngai Tahu settlement in 1998 and to the best of his knowledge has never been land owned by Maori interests for as long as land titles have existed in this country. It was freehold farmland before a zone change to make it commercial and industrial.
But there are roadblocks in the Fast Track Approvals Act. Section 11 says that any applicant for a fast track approval “must consult any relevant iwi, hapu and Treaty settlement entities.”
Remember this Act was passed only last year by the current Coalition Government, a government which pledged to “uphold the principles of liberal democracy, including the rule of law and property rights.”
Section 11 has given three Runaka in the Otago region, all members of Ngai Tahu, an opportunity to insert themselves into this development.
In a letter to Port Otago boss Kevin Winders, the chair of Otakou Runaka Nadia Wesley-Smith writes “we do not consider there to have been any meaningful engagement with the three Runaka in respect of the project to date. Accordingly, at this stage, the three Runaka have no choice but to oppose the referral application and the project more generally.”
But she wants to open negotiations and includes a “Process Agreement” as how to they should proceed.
Part 2 of that Agreement says “The Southern Link JV acknowledges that due to its significantly greater resources compared to the Ka Runaka parties, that unless Southern Link JV provides support to Ka Runaka parties, any discussions and negotiations between the parties will not be fair and reasonable. Therefore the Southern Link JV agrees to provide reasonable funds to support Runaka staff, members and governance to engage with Southern Link JV on relevant matters, support Ka Runaka parties to engage appropriate external parties to advise and support the Ka Runaka parties and meet administrative, travel and logistical costs.”
Remember this. Ka Runaka is part of Ngai Tahu. In the last three decades the South Island iwi has turned its $170 million dollar settlement into $1.66 billion with extensive interests in forestry, fishing, property, tourism and agriculture. There’s every chance some of its businesses will use the Southern Link to move produce to Port Otago.
One of the Runaka which is a signatory to the letter is Moeraki in North Otago, also part of Nga Runaka o Waitaki which took Meridian Energy to the cleaners for over a hundred million dollars last year in return for them granting water rights to generate electricity. The chair of Moeraki is Justin Tipa, also the elected kaiwhakahaere - or chair - of TRONT, the full Te Runaka o Nga Tahu.
Yet these three Otago based Runaka have the gall to say that the Southern Link JV has significantly greater resources!
That is surely untrue. Port Otago, if listed on the sharemarket might generously be worth $300 million based on its property portfolio and most recent profit of $30 million.
Dynes Transport and various subsidiaries is privately held and fifty percent owned by the Richardson Group of Invercargill. But the two JV entities together will not be worth anywhere near $1.6 billion and “do not have significantly greater resources compared to the Ka Runaka parties.”
So for these Runaka to be wanting money to discuss and negotiate the project is yet example of the omnipresent “taniwha tax.” Meridian succumbed to it last year.
The Southern Link JV is probably going to have to pay up as well if it wants the inland port to go ahead.
The Coalition Government talks big on unblocking development. But then it writes legislation encouraging more hui and less dooey.
Peter Williams was a writer and broadcaster for half a century. Now watching from the sidelines. Peter blogs regularly on Peter’s Substack - where this article was sourced.
Dynes Transport, headed by the entrepreneurial Peter Dynes, has formed a joint venture with Port Otago to build Southern Link Logistics Park on forty hectares of land, adjacent to the railway line at Mosgiel, just south of Dunedin.
Southern Link would be an inland port, a place where goods are brought to from their place of production to be loaded into containers and then transported to the ship - mostly by train. Conversely inland ports are where containers are brought to for unpacking and distribution after unloading from the ship.
Because inland ports are built on large tracts of flat land they’re not constrained for space by the often small narrow coastal strips around a seaport. They’re a vital part of the country’s supply chain infrastructure.
The land that Southern Link is planned for was formerly a privately owned farm. Peter Dynes bought it for his company with a view to building the inland port there.
As he sees it it’s a no brainer. It would take 19,000 truck movements off the streets of Dunedin and the road to Port Chalmers each year meaning less traffic congestion and road damage.
It would also encourage industrial and production investment in the region on land prices considerably cheaper than the usual going rate of $650 a square metre over the hill in Dunedin itself.
The Dynes and Port Otago Southern Link JV have applied for consent to go ahead under the Fast Track Approvals Act which has as its stated purpose “to facilitate the delivery of infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits.”
The land that Peter Dynes bought for the inland port was never part of the Ngai Tahu settlement in 1998 and to the best of his knowledge has never been land owned by Maori interests for as long as land titles have existed in this country. It was freehold farmland before a zone change to make it commercial and industrial.
But there are roadblocks in the Fast Track Approvals Act. Section 11 says that any applicant for a fast track approval “must consult any relevant iwi, hapu and Treaty settlement entities.”
Remember this Act was passed only last year by the current Coalition Government, a government which pledged to “uphold the principles of liberal democracy, including the rule of law and property rights.”
Section 11 has given three Runaka in the Otago region, all members of Ngai Tahu, an opportunity to insert themselves into this development.
In a letter to Port Otago boss Kevin Winders, the chair of Otakou Runaka Nadia Wesley-Smith writes “we do not consider there to have been any meaningful engagement with the three Runaka in respect of the project to date. Accordingly, at this stage, the three Runaka have no choice but to oppose the referral application and the project more generally.”
But she wants to open negotiations and includes a “Process Agreement” as how to they should proceed.
Part 2 of that Agreement says “The Southern Link JV acknowledges that due to its significantly greater resources compared to the Ka Runaka parties, that unless Southern Link JV provides support to Ka Runaka parties, any discussions and negotiations between the parties will not be fair and reasonable. Therefore the Southern Link JV agrees to provide reasonable funds to support Runaka staff, members and governance to engage with Southern Link JV on relevant matters, support Ka Runaka parties to engage appropriate external parties to advise and support the Ka Runaka parties and meet administrative, travel and logistical costs.”
Remember this. Ka Runaka is part of Ngai Tahu. In the last three decades the South Island iwi has turned its $170 million dollar settlement into $1.66 billion with extensive interests in forestry, fishing, property, tourism and agriculture. There’s every chance some of its businesses will use the Southern Link to move produce to Port Otago.
One of the Runaka which is a signatory to the letter is Moeraki in North Otago, also part of Nga Runaka o Waitaki which took Meridian Energy to the cleaners for over a hundred million dollars last year in return for them granting water rights to generate electricity. The chair of Moeraki is Justin Tipa, also the elected kaiwhakahaere - or chair - of TRONT, the full Te Runaka o Nga Tahu.
Yet these three Otago based Runaka have the gall to say that the Southern Link JV has significantly greater resources!
That is surely untrue. Port Otago, if listed on the sharemarket might generously be worth $300 million based on its property portfolio and most recent profit of $30 million.
Dynes Transport and various subsidiaries is privately held and fifty percent owned by the Richardson Group of Invercargill. But the two JV entities together will not be worth anywhere near $1.6 billion and “do not have significantly greater resources compared to the Ka Runaka parties.”
So for these Runaka to be wanting money to discuss and negotiate the project is yet example of the omnipresent “taniwha tax.” Meridian succumbed to it last year.
The Southern Link JV is probably going to have to pay up as well if it wants the inland port to go ahead.
The Coalition Government talks big on unblocking development. But then it writes legislation encouraging more hui and less dooey.
Peter Williams was a writer and broadcaster for half a century. Now watching from the sidelines. Peter blogs regularly on Peter’s Substack - where this article was sourced.
19 comments:
One has to wonder why anybody would want to do any major development in this country. Maori want a slice of any and everything that matters here.
This project will probably not need nor have any input from Maori either directly or indirectly.
Brownmail, pure and simple.
Why oh why cant lawmakers get things right when drafting stuff. When dealing with private land, surely the owner has the right to do any legitimate work and advise others what is intended.
I long for the day when these issues arise, we can use simple language when dealing with Maori like, F Off, when you get there, F Off again, keep Fing Off, till you get back here, then
F Off again.
The Coalition Government talks big on unblocking development, but then writes in more apartheid legislation, encouraging more hui and less dooey, which is the new “Aotearoa apartheid progress paradigm”.
Peter, if it includes those words "consultation with Iwi" (just btw the latter cohort not mentioned in the Treaty) that means pay the grift that will inevitably ALWAYS FOLLOW. And who were prominent advocates of the Fast Track Bill - Chris Bishop/National and Shane Jones/NZ First. Why did it have to have racist provisions, and this from the latter party that decreed that "there are no principles in the Treaty?" Yeah right - except, obviously, that "principle" of 'consultation' (aka, grift) at every turn. And why is it that every time Maori are consulted, a one way path on the cost always arises? Get off their backsides and treat with honour the opportunity to discuss matters - not on your nelly, leastwise until the belly and palm are full. That's the "utmost good faith" of these part-Maori for you. Any claim otherwise - then pigs fly!
Unbelievable! This extortion has to stop. And, why was your FB post removed?
That was Tom Henry's FB post I was referring to. (being removed).
I;m with you Ray.
Today the ethnicity diahorea have also put a notice of opposition to the Macres goldmine application . Parliament has to legislate ethnicity out of law and governance .
Forty or fifty years ago many or most maori were regarded as relatively simple souls.Those who made it to parliament on maori votes tended to confirm. Despite some part maori having made it to the level of bishop or judge, very few seemed to realise that in addition to the cunning and deceit noted by early visitors and colonists, very many maori had inherited Northern European intelligence and material ambition. Woolly worded legislation influenced by organised but unrecognised external insurgent maori, was passed with grossly inadequate pessimistic scrutiny. We have all seen the outcome. Yet incredibly slovenly legislation is still regularly passed. Maori have figured that even if all other opportunistic avenues for reward are identified and closed off, a good return is available from paid contrived consultation alone. Hence the desire to be in on wards, committees, management etc .Paid consultation has become a major part of the maori economy. Meanwhile mere others must usually put up counter argument in their own time and at their own expense.
Surely Iwi only need to be consulted if the project directly concerns them. eg. if its on their land etc. What have these Iwi have to do with this project? Or am I missing something>
You’re not the only one who is sick and tired of this nonsense.
Fair minded kiwis are seething with rage. I detect a groundswell of mass dissatisfaction with the current pride of pussies in parliament. We watch enviously as the new US leader disrupts and bravely delivers common sense in order to repair the damage done to the country he loves dearly. Can you imagine him not taking a flamethrower to our destructive impediments in New Zealand?
Predictable greedy iwi behaviour under such process! No more than a maori protection racket set up and endorsed by National.
Yes Anon 6:35pm, consultation=grift and grift=a bloody great handbrake on growth and development in this country. Why can’t Luxon see that? I bet prospective local and foreign investor's can. Good luck with those public private partnerships - if you can get them they’re going to be expensive.
Governments let these grifters be. Harass your M.P's. Don't acknowledge 'pigeon english' etc. Don't engage where possible-with plastic maori!!!!
I do enjoy reading the articles and comments here at Breaking Views. However, it just gets more and more depressing when we hear stories like this one. Every day the maori mafia has their hands out yet again for more money. Demanding money to be consulted on something that quite frankly is none of their business is disgusting to me and should be shot down immediately. I doubt many people will ever hear about it though, MSM will be silent as usual. Andrew
By all means tell Maori along with else what you are going to do, respectfully listen when they respond, and that's it.
Continue with your development.
Are there any rules that state that you have to comply with any objections brought up by Maori until they have been paid whatever they demand ?
Who determines the level of consultation ?
This has gone on for far too long - a couple of examples : paying Waikato Maori a million dollars for the Taniwha in the Waikato River to be appeased when the Waikato Expressway went through.
Also NZ Steel discharging clean Waikato water into the Manukau Harbour required a $1M pay off.
I think you’ve got a great idea and I hope that the Otago developers try it.
The bottom line here is that the Māoris have been proven to be bad faith actors for quite some time & aren’t interested in doing what’s best for New Zealand.
"Must consult any relevant Iwi, hapu or treaty settlement entities"
If iwi or hapu arent on the legal title , they arent relevant.
If the land isnt part of a current treaty claim then thats irrelevant also. Thats how the legislation reads to me
But it does take a special kind of spineless, foolish bureaucrat to write this b/s into the legislation after promising to move away from race based privileges
If there is any sort of groundswell opposition to this nonsense how is it showing itself? I neither see it nor hear it. I hear people worried about their jobs and cost of living- Maori, if they think about it, are either justified or a side show.
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