October 09, 2019
Iwi rejects Murupara bottling plant deal
Murupara whānau believe they have seen off an attempt by an outside company to set up a water bottling plant in the Bay of Plenty township.
At its annual meeting last weekend, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Manawa told beneficiaries it had pulled out of its partnership with NZ Aquifers to build the plant.
Pa Rangiaho, who has been maintaining a protest at the site earmarked for the project, says without the support of tangata whenua it can't go ahead.
He says a critical factor in the decision was who would own the resource consent.
"We were never against progress. We are going to use our resources when the people, the tangata whenua, are in control. Because that's for us to use for our people, use to use and we are going to be in control because that's for us, out people. Where we find a way to be in control and kaitiaki and making sure it's environmentally friendly. We want to be in control of everything here," Mr Rangiaho says.
Murupara needs jobs, but there were too many question marks over the NZ Aquifers proposal.
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