Govt cuts funding for controversial East Coast barge project

A controversial East Coast barge project aiming to transport logs out of a remote area has been cut from a list of Government-funded infrastructure projects, missing out on tens of millions of dollars that had been earmarked for it.

On Monday, the Government announced changes to its spending that would save nearly $4 billion over the next four years.

As part of the cuts, a proposed marine access facility at Te Araroa — two-and-a-half hours north of Gisborne — was axed. In 2020, funding of up to $45 million was announced for the project.

Te Rimu Trust has been trying to establish Te Araroa Kāhui Kupenga Marine Access Facility since 2015, with the primary purpose of transporting logs by way of barges that could carry the equivalent of 90 truckloads at a time.

The trust said the facility would create more jobs and protect an already fragile roading network.

But its establishment was heavily opposed by Tuatara Group, a collective of ahi kā and long-term Te Araroa residents, who said commercial interests were being prioritised over the community and environment.

In May, the trust received news it had been unsuccessful in obtaining a fast-tracked referral to a consenting panel for decision under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020.

The Government shortcut was set up for projects that have potential to boost employment and economic recovery.

Trust chairman Richard Clarke said at the time he was still confident the project would get off the ground.

This week, a spokesperson for Crown Infrastructure Partners told Local Democracy Reporting that because the project had missed out on fast-tracking, it was unlikely to gain consent within the next 12 months.

It was therefore cut because it no longer met the intentions of the Infrastructure Reference Group programme.

Tuatara Group representative Kararaina Ngatai-Melbourne said her group was happy with the news, because the project had been weighing on the minds of those who had opposed it for eight years.

“It was really impacting on us mentally and physically. And we really started to feel the strain of the fight. But no matter what, we kept going.”

Ngatai-Melbourne said her group didn’t feel acknowledged in discussions about the facility, and the issue of protecting mana moana was disregarded.

“I guess we can now rest up regarding the barge. We can concentrate on our whānau, on our marae, on our community. We can do all those things.”

The trust’s proposal for the facility was declined inclusion in Gisborne District Council’s Tai Rāwhiti 2050 Strategy, which was made in 2020.

Following that, then-Infrastructure minister Shane Jones approved a deal in principle to fund the project with $45 million of government money.

Up to $2.8 million was allocated to fund feasibility, design, costing and consent work for the proposal.

In April, a logistics consultant working for Te Rimu Trust said the project’s launch was getting close.

A business case had been completed along with environmental reports, and there was talk of construction beginning later in the year.

Trust chairman Clarke did not wish to comment on Monday’s announcement.