The Minister would not have signed the Taranaki Seabed Mining Permit

The Minister of Conservation says that if it were only up to her, a deep seabed exploration permit would not have been approved off the coast of Taranaki.

The license, granted to Ironsands Offshore Mining Limited, falls to two nautical miles. marine mammal sanctuary housing the critically endangered maui dolphin and the rare southern right whale

The Mineral Exploration License is authorized under the Taranaki Regional Council's Coastal Plan Rules.

It is estimated between 57 and 75 maui dolphins left in the wild and the permit will cover an area that falls two nautical miles in the 12 miles that make up the sanctuary, which is designed to protect them.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, of South Taranaki iwi Ngāti Ruanui, said the iwi was against the decision because it had not had good validation practices.

"In one breath we are told that part of the ocean is out of bounds … [but] we are told another part, which is right in the middle of a shrine sailor for the Maui dolphins, is open to the business of extraction, "she said.

Ms. Ngarewa-Packer said that the license was not directly in their area. The boundaries of Ngāti Ruanui

Greenpeace called the permit absolutely absurd.

Its executive director and former Green Party leader, Russel Norman, said that he was disappointed with the decision of New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, which is a division of The Ministry of Innovation and Science. Employment (MBIE), but not surprised.

"The question is why the government did not intervene to stop them," he said.

The Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage, said that if the permit had crossed her office, she would not have approved it.

"I know very well that the license has been changed. from the shortcomings of the Navy Mammals Act, that is why I asked [the Department of Conservation] to do some work in this space, I wrote and advised to Minster [Megan] Woods of the I & # 39; The importance of the shrine, I know she is aware of it, but MBIE She said that if the exploration permit gave rise to a request for mine, that would be when she would expect at that that the DOC intervenes.

A spokeswoman for Ms. Wood's office said the decision had been made. the very strict criteria of the Crown Minerals Act, inherited from the previous government

However, they said that there would be a complete process of the Resource Management Act with the possibility of consultation if the mineral rights were requested .