Wannabe seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources’ Fast-Track application has now been accepted for the next stage by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), a process Greenpeace slams for being anti-democratic and completely ignoring the overwhelming opposition of the local community.

Greenpeace seabed mining campaigner Juressa Lee says, "For nearly a decade, Trans-Tasman Resources has failed to get its seabed mining project approved. It’s been rejected at multiple levels of legal and environmental review, but today the Luxon Government has rubber-stamped it because it might make a little bit of money for their mates.

"Investors in TTR’s project are trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes, telling us to ‘trust the science’. But TTR has never been able to alleviate the courts’ concerns for harmful impacts on wildlife and the environment, nor shown any interest in filling the gaps in information and reliable modelling.

"Taranaki communities - including iwi, the fishing industry, recreational fishers, surfers and swimmers - have fought against TTR for more than a decade. But the Luxon government is ignoring their wishes and imposing an unpopular project which will devastate the South Taranaki Bight."

Lee adds: "The opposition to seabed mining is strong and unwavering, and Greenpeace will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the growing resistance and make sure these wannabe miners never get a chance."

Trans-Tasman Resources is planning to extract 50 million tonnes of iron sand from the South Taranaki Bight every year for 35 years in an eleven-metre deep open-cast mine on the seabed, and then dump 45 million tonnes a year back into the ocean.

Experts say that seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight would damage rich ecosystems and threaten precious marine life such as the pygmy blue whale, Māui and Hector’s dolphins and kororā.

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