stop the shit

A terrible decision from the Environment Court that allows the Wairoa District Council to spray 52,000 cubic metres of treated effluent over a 30 hectare site on the Mahia Peninsula - residents and Maori oppose this. Residents are concerned about the massive increase in rates that this will cause and maori are upset because the waste will be spread over an area that is sacred and important for tangata whenua.

From Radio NZ

Spokesperson Mere Whaanga says her iwi is offended by the plans to spray effluent over the site where men, women and children were slaughtered by another tribe.

"Imagine if the Turkish authorities decided to spray human effluent over Gallipoli," she said.

"This massacre site is so important, not only to the Whaanga family but to Mahia history, it's a comparable insult."

Yes it is but that insult is given little consideration from the Environment Court.

The Environment Court has ruled the benefits to the community outweigh cultural and historical concerns.

We will know when we are making progress when decisions like this don't occur and when cultural and historical concerns outweigh the so called community benefits. How can the community benefit when a significant section of the community oppose the move - it is oxymoronic.