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Ngāti Awa wins right to appeal billion-bottles-per-year water plant expansion

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Ngāti Awa has won the right to appeal a water bottling plant’s plans to extract nearly a billion litres of water a year from an aquifer near Whakatāne, an NZ Herald report says.

The iwi has consistently challenged the consent given by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to Creswell New Zealand Limited - a subsidiary of Chinese soft drink giant Nongfu Spring - to expand its Eastern Bay of Plenty facility and extract the significant body of water.

In particular, it has argued that the bottling of water from the aquifer in Otākiri would have irrevocable effects on the mauri or life force of the water and render Ngāti Awa unable to be kaitiaki.

"Why are we exporting our purest water when our own people living in Whakatāne, Murupara and Kawerau drink water of the lowest acceptable quality for human consumption?" Ngāti Awa chairperson Joe Harawira said in December 2021.

After losing challenges in the Environment Court, High Court and Court of Appeal, Ngāti Awa received encouraging news this week.

In a decision released by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the iwi was granted leave to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision, and also the High Court’s decision not to consider the negative effects the bottling plant would have on tikanga, the NZ Herald reports.

Creswell NZ managing director Michael Gleissner told the NZ Herald last year further court action was “disappointing” as the case had already been listened to and considered three times by the courts.

“I’m surprised that they are throwing good money after bad,” he said. “Throughout the whole process we have looked to engage with them and offer solutions to alleviate their concerns,” Gleissner said at the time.