The Kea Conservation Trust has expressed concern over a company’s decision to use Kea branding for its proposed $350 million waste-to-energy plant at Waimate, warning that it could be perceived as cultural appropriation.
South Island Resource Recovery Ltd (SIRRL) has named its proposal to build the plant Project Kea using an image of a kea.
Trust chair Tamsin Orr-Walker was quick to clarify, “The use of the name and imagery of Kea in the waste-to-energy project, Project Kea, is a decision made by that company and in no way reflects any involvement or association with the Kea Conservation Trust (KCT).”
“Kea is a taonga species which are important to Māori and all New Zealanders,” Orr-Walker said.
