The Green Party says the Fast Track expert panel should turn down the previously declined ‘Waitaha Hydro’ project, which if approved will destroy an internationally significant South Island river.
An application to dam the river as part of the ‘Waitaha Hydro project’ was declined in 2019 by the Minister for the Environment David Parker. It was shown then to offer little benefit to New Zealand, while causing significant impacts on the natural character of the wild Waitaha River and Morgan Gorge, the intrinsic value of the area, and people’s enjoyment of it.
Green Party Environment spokesperson MP Lan Pham says they are expecting a release on the Waitaha Fast-track hydro application today, based on comments from the panel chair during a recent hearing.
“The only people to benefit from this zombie project being resurrected from the dead are to its investors. It is a cynical manipulation of democracy to try and get a different result through the Fast Track process after it was already declined through an earlier, more robust process.”
“This project wouldn’t even be ‘fast’ to get going – the project backers want 15 years to build the thing. Using the Fast Track process is a transparent misuse of the legislation and a big middle finger to Aotearoa NZ.”
“The Waitaha river flows through conservation land. The area is home to over 25 native bird species, including kea, kākā and kārearea, whio, and long-tailed bats, and forest and green geckos.”
“The Department of Conservation themselves have said “the Waitaha Valley has ecological, landscape and recreational values of local, regional, national and international significance.”
“It is DOC’s view that the proposal will result in the fundamental loss of natural character, solitude and remoteness that underpin the Waitaha Valley characteristics of a back country-remote zone.”
Pham says along with irreversibly destroying the wild character of area, the project fails to meet any sensible economic threshold.
“There are already consented, unbuilt hydro schemes on the West Coast, that wouldn’t do the damage that this project would. The proposed cost has doubled to $200 million, while only providing power for 12,000 homes. That’s about $20,000 per household - money which could be used to expand nearby solar projects, or other modern technology solutions which don’t rely on destroying our remaining wild places.”
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