Waimate

South Island Resource Recovery Limited (SIRRL) plan on locating its huge rubbish incinerator on farmland approximately 2.5 km north of the Glenavy township. Prevailing winds in the area are Northeast, meaning emissions from the incinerator will be carried directly over the township and school. In addition to the emissions from the plant, the school also has concerns about the extra heavy truck and trailer movements, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to bring waste to site. Read the schools official position on the Government’s fast tracking of this proposal below.

Greens MPs Lan Pham and Scott Willis generously took time out of their busy schedules to travel to Waimate and meet with members of the community. Representatives from the Glenavy farming and wider community, Glenavy school board, Waimate doctors, and Why Waste Waimate were present to speak with Lan and Scott and provide them with some thoughts on how the proposed incinerator is impacting our community. As the Waimate incinerator proposal has been included in the Government’s fast-track plans, Lan and Scott provided everyone with valuable insight into the likely fast-track process. It was quite an eye-opener to learn that the Bill, as it currently stands, does nothing to protect existing consent holders. This could have wide-ranging effects on important food producers in the area, including the district’s hugely important dairy sector.The Greens have stated that proposals included in the fast-track will not be certain if the Greens form any part of the next Government. Lan Pham Lan is the Greens spokesperson for several roles, including environment, bio-security, customs, land information, water services, statistics and women. Lan’s background is in Freshwater Ecology where she gained her masters at the University of Otago and worked in both public service and grass-roots conservation and freshwater habitat restoration (DOC, Working Waters Trust), including working with mana whenua, farmers, schools, and community groups across Waitaha Canterbury, Ōtākou Otago and Murihiku Southland.Lan served two terms on Environment Canterbury (Regional Council for Waitaha Canterbury). She was also a certified RMA Commissioner and was appointed an Independent Freshwater Commissioner in 2021.  Scott Willis Scott is the Greens spokesperson for energy, regional development, rural communities, small business and manufacturing, sports and recreation and Dunedin issues. Scott is also associate spokesperson for justice(firearms)Scott and his partner Jenna lived overseas in neo-peasant and activist communities, where Scott worked as an intern at the European Parliament. He co-founded an NGO to work on climate solutions and ran that for 12 years. During that time, Scott experienced the high points of successful projects and the low points and frustrations of trying to change the status quo at the flax roots. Scott has been Green through all of this, whether in a governance role, as an academic or activist.More recently, Scott worked at a Kaupapa Māori organization, in charge of a home upgrade programme to deliver energy wellbeing to some of our most vulnerable, and was a director at Climate Navigator, a sustainability and climate risk consultancy that helps communities, businesses, and agencies decarbonise and adapt.For years, Scott has worked on community energy – developing and running Aotearoa’s first peer-to-peer electricity retailer, attempting to build Aotearoa’s first community wind farm, helping solarise communities – and was on an advisory group at the Electricity Authority. We can have cleaner, cheaper, smarter power, and I’ll work for that. Healthy housing is a passion. Scott has worked to deliver energy well-being since 2007 and conceived and built NZ’s first Climate

At a Waimate District Council workshop on 26 March 2024, the Council’s Regulatory and Compliance Group Manager and Planner provided the Council with an update on the South Island Resource Recovery Limited (SIRRL) incinerator proposal. Following this update, Waimate Dr Crispin Langston addressed the Council on emissions from incineration plants and what impacts those emissions have on human health. This was followed by an address from Robert Ireland, who provided an overview of data from operating CNTY plants in China. CNTY is the 60% owner of SIRRL; they will be building and operating the plant, providing the componentry and technology, and providing most of the $350m funding for the plant. This data showed the appalling track record of these plants and highlighted the inconsistency between what SIRRL claim they will provide and what they are achieving.At this meeting, Deputy Mayor Sharyn Cain suggested that WDC write a letter to the central government opposing the potential fast-tracking of the incinerator. Incinerator’s inclusion on Fast-Track list On 6 October 2024, the Government released the 149 fast-track listed projects. Included was SIRRL’s Waimate incinerator proposal. The next day, WDC CE Stuart Duncan was contacted and asked for his thoughts on SIRRL’s inclusion. Mr Duncan said he was disappointed in the process they are using and was surprised it made the list.Mr Duncan also stated that Councillor O’Connor had informed him of the proposal’s inclusion the previous Thursday, four days before the list was released to the public.Mr Duncan was also asked to provide a copy of the letter that the Deputy Mayor had suggested at the 26 March Council workshop.Mr Duncan said, “I will check up on that, but I’m worried it wasn’t sent,” something he later confirmed in an email. WDC, No Importation of Waste a ‘Must Have’. In an August 16, 2023, meeting with two Why Waste Waimate representatives, the CE said no importation of waste and a bond were ‘must have’ conditions for WDC on any SIRRL resource consent. Waimate DC mayor Craig Rowley echoed this a month later in a September 26, 2023 Platform interview with Michael Laws, when he said no importation of waste was a must-have for WDC.    Following the confirmation that the OIO had granted SIRRL consent to purchase the land required to site the incinerator, a Newsroom article by David Williams surfaced showing that Finance Minister Nicola Willis has removed a clause in the OIO consent that SIRRL only obtain waste from within the South Island to fuel the plant, effectively allowing the importation of waste. Given the CE and Mayor’s clear stance on waste importation, one would expect them to be outraged by the Minister’s move. However, their silence since Minister Willis’s decision in March 2024 is concerning. The Council’s inaction raises the question of why they are so reluctant to publicly call out this proposal, leaving us all with a sense of frustration and disappointment.  A simple letter requesting that SIRRL’s resource consent not be fast-tracked was beyond councils efforts. Yet, a request to the Mayor in August 2021 by SIRRL’s public relations firm for a “supporting statement” for the rollout of the incinerator proposal, was dutifully provided. WDC’s Anti Three Waters Reform Stance. The level of resources WDC used to try and fight the Three Waters bill provides an example of how, when motivated, the Council can provide clear and continuous messaging against what they perceived as Government overreach. Yet, they have a proposal that stands to affect the health and well-being of the residents of the Waimate District for the next 35 years and beyond, recklessly fast-tracked by Government overreach, yet they couldn’t be bothered to send a single letter. Community Questions Not Welcome? Following the release of the fast-track list on October 6, on October 10, Mayor Rowley released a statement on social media saying that all questions regarding the fast-tracking of SIRRL’s incinerator should be directed to the Ministry for the Environment. The fast-tracking of the incinerator has removed the resource consent from the Environment Court, removing the community’s ability to submit on the consent. The Council’s response is to post an FB message directing any community questions away from the Council, suggesting that community questions are unwelcome. Was WDC’s request to call-in the incinerator proposal merely to wash its hands of it? Read more below, about Waimate District Council’s involvement with the waste incinerator proposal dating back to June 2020. Waimate District Council

As we know, SIRRL’s Incinerator proposal for Waimate has been included in the government’s Fast-Track list. This means the proposal has been removed from the Environment Court, taking with it the ability for the community to submit on the application. On October 21, 2024, RNZ’s Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan hosted SIRRL’s Paul Taylor to discuss the company’s inclusion on the Fast-Track list. 9 minutes 25 seconds into the interview, Paul Taylor was asked the following question; “If you wanted the community to have confidence in the proposal, why did you go for the fast track.” Taylor’s response; “The reason that we have chosen to go down the fast track route, basically is, SIRRL sees it as a more streamlined process where the panel can focus exclusively on the real issues raised by the application, not be sidetracked by matters that are not relevant.”   WOW, community concerns not relevant! For three years, SIRRL has been parroting the following line: “The Waimate community is SIRRL’s main priority; that’s why we will request our resource consent application be publicly notified to include the community in the process.” However, for those three years, SIRRL has employed public manipulation company Convergence, which shamelessly boasts itself as ‘Government lobbying specialists’. We can now clearly see how much ‘priority’ SIRRL affords the Waimate community. SIRRL may have succeeded in steering this proposal away from the scrutiny of the Environment Court; however, Taylor and China Tianying have not won any friends in the Waimate community. Their deceitful lobbying of the government to remove community input while simultaneously misleading the Waimate community should not be tolerated. Pursuing Fast-Tracking of its application shows that SIRRL is willing to take shortcuts and will do anything necessary, including riding roughshod over the process and community, to get it. That’s a failed result. Recent events highlight director Paul Taylors’ alarmingly cavalier attitude toward public wellbeing. The SIRRL director was arrested on June 12 for attempting to drive from Christchurch to his farm south of Ashburton while intoxicated; this was made worse by the fact the 57-year-old stopped off at Rakaia for a second session of drinking before being stopped by police. So, should we believe Taylor and China Tianying have Waimate’s best interests at heart? Read More

“Only as happy as your saddest child” An Ashton man has found himself disqualified from driving after hitting the road while intoxicated – then stopping halfway home to drink more. South Island Resource Recovery Limited director Paul Robert Taylor, 57, pleaded guilty to drink driving. Taylor was stopped by police on June 12 on the Rakaia Highway. Duty lawyer Tiffany McRae said Taylor had been in Christchurch supporting his adult children through a hard time. He had consumed alcohol in Christchurch before stopping in Rakaia for a second round of drinks. Taylor was convicted, disqualified from driving for six months, and ordered to pay a $700 fine as well as doctor’s costs for the blood test. This reckless action shows the SIRRL director’s disregard for public wellbeing. If the Waimate incinerator proponents can’t even self regulate, then how can the community have any trust that their wellbeing will be at the forefront of SIRRL’s concerns as Mr Taylor claims. Read Article

On September 27, 2023, at a public pre-election meeting in Waimate, Miles Anderson, National candidate for Waitaki, was asked whether he supported the Waimate incinerator proposal. His response was no. On an earlier occasion, following the re-lodgement of SIRRL’s resource consent application, Anderson was asked whether he would submit against the proposal if the Waitaki electorate opposed it. His response was “Yes, it’s my job.”  However, in an Otago Daily Times article about the incinerators’ inclusion on the fast track list, Mr Anderson commented on the need for the plant. What’s changed? Anderson meets with Why Waste Waimate Waitaki National candidate Miles Anderson was invited to meet with WWW in 2023. At this meeting, Mr Anderson was asked whether he supported the SIRRL waste incinerator proposal. He stated that, at the time, he wasn’t opposed to W-t-E in theory. However, he didn’t support the current proposal as it stood. He said it didn’t make sense, highlighting trucking waste to the site from all over the South Island and the impact on already poor-quality roads with insufficient passing lanes to support the extra heavy traffic. He questioned SIRRL’s ability to acquire enough waste within the South Island, given that it was already spoken for by waste management companies. He also questioned the proponents’ history and couldn’t see how a National government could support it as it currently stood, given the level of unanswered questions about the proposal.He was asked whether he would submit against the proposal if the Waitaki electorate opposed it.His response was, “Yes, it’s my job”. Pre-election position Mr Anderson attended a pre-election meet-the-candidates meeting at the Waimate Event Centre on Sept 27, 2023. A member of the audience asked all candidates to provide a yes/no answer to the following question: Are you for or against the project Kea proposal? Mr Anderson’s response was no, he did not support the plant. Post-election  In May 2024, Mr Anderson was invited to meet with the WWW committee to discuss the possibility of the Waimate incinerator being fast-tracked. Six Glenavy farmers were also in attendance. Anderson reiterated his previous pre-election comment that he would oppose the incinerator as currently proposed. He didn’t think the government could fast-track anything already earmarked for the Environment Court and expressed doubt that they would support it as it didn’t fit their renewable energy manifesto. He considered that mining and aquaculture projects would be of much higher importance.  Anderson was presented with concerns about the importation of waste, as the Berl report suggested there was insufficient waste within the South Island to fuel a plant of this size. He was also made aware of Fonterra’s submittion against a similar incinerator proposal in Te Awamutu, which stated there was no place for an incinerator in a food producing area. Mr Anderson was also informed of previous proposals by the same proponents who intended to import waste from the Pacific Island’s and Australia, highlighting any importation of waste would be a biosecurity risk.  Miles said he did not think the importation of waste would be economically viable. Four farmers told Anderson that they would sell up and leave if the plant went ahead due to the threats it imposed on their farms and their children’s health. He expressed his view that he did not believe the proposal would proceed. Anderson said he would follow up on the following; Asking if SIRRL had applied for fast track status and whether the company had lobbied the three fast track ministers. Would the Prime Minister consider placing a moratorium on all waste to energy plants? Anderson was later prompted for a follow-up response, which came via email from his PA on July 11, 2024. The email stated Miles did not know if SIRRL had applied for Fast Track status and was unaware of ministers lobbying or being lobbied for this. Also, Miles does not intend to ask the Prime Minister for a moratorium on incineration as this is a very broad subject. The email concluded, “Miles is very interested in keeping up to speed with this, but there has been nothing we are aware of other than it being at the EPA stage.” ODT Article An ODT article dated 11 October 2024, regarding the incinerators’ inclusion on the Fast Track list, quoted Mr Anderson as saying there was a need for more electricity generation. With its hydro scheme, the Waitaki electorate generates 1700MW of renewable energy. The 30MW electricity output projected by SIRRL would amount to around 2% of that figure or 0.3% of NZ’s total electricity generation. However, with the company’s proposed plasma furnace and supply of steam to nearby industries, that figure could drop by as much as half.  SIRRL relies on burning high-calorie fossil fuel-derived plastic waste and vast volumes of auxiliary diesel to generate electricity. In contrast, the equivalent $350 million spent on a wind farm would return seven times the amount of energy and be 100% renewable. Even SIRRL excluded itself as an energy project on the fast track list, so Mr Anderson has completely missed the mark with his ODT comment. The ODT article also quoted Anderson as saying the plant’s environmental impacts were “debatable.” If Mr Anderson believes this to be true, then surely he must agree that the best place to debate the environmental impacts of this proposal is the Environment Court. However, his government’s fast-track selection panel has dismissed the Ministry for Environment (MfE) and the Environmental Protection Authority’s advice and removed SIRRL’s application from the Environment Court. Why?  Mr Anderson should front up to the Waimate community and explain the about-face. Did he lie to appease voters, or has he been forced to toe the party line to the detriment of his electoral obligations? Show some backbone, Mr Anderson, and stand against the Waimate incinerator. As you said yourself, it’s your job to do so. “We need to back our farmers like we back the All Blacks.” Miles Anderson’s profile on National.org states, “As Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said recently, we need to back our farmers

South Island Resource Recovery Ltd (SIRRL) has emerged in the Canterbury quotient of the long-awaited Fast Track Approvals Bill list. You could reasonably predict that many in the long-suffering Waimate community will feel cheated and disgusted at the consideration of a gigantic rubbish-burning incinerator on precious farmland as critical infrastructure. For three years, the company that wants to build the huge ‘Project Kea’ waste-to-energy incinerator has publicly made known its intention to request public notification of its consent applications. This gives the community a crucial right to make submissions in the consenting process. However, it has become clear that SIRRL, with the assistance of a public manipulations firm, Convergence Communications, has been actively working to exclude the community from the process by seeking to expedite its resource concerts under the fast-track legislation. The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approved the land sale for the incinerator site in March. It was endorsed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis as not contrary to New Zealand’s national interest. An OIA request revealed a curious move by Willis to remove a condition imposed on the consent by the OIO; her decision not limiting but effectively allowing the company to import waste. When asked by Newsroom journalist David Williams about that decision, Minister Willis’s response was that it was a matter best handled by the Environment Court, as directed by previous Environment Minister David Parker. Advice from a cross-agency panel from MfE, MBIE and Te Whatu Ora was included but a critical human health assessment by Te Whatu Ora was also to be bypassed directly to the Environment Court. The MfE advice to Willis suggested that the proposal had many potentially adverse environmental effects, including undermining government waste minimisation policies, monopolising NZ’s waste management infrastructure, and threatening NZ’s global greenhouse gas commitments. The report rightfully questioned the proposal’s validity within a NZ context, the applicant’s character, and the credibility of its calculations. Large parts of the report relating to national security were redacted, including material about the Chinese shareholder company CNTY and its Chinese government ownership. Still, the government added the proposal to its fast-track list, stating that the fast-tracking determination process running parallel to the OIO was thorough and included input from MfE, yet advocating a path that did not require Environment Court scrutiny. When questioned on her waste importation allowance, Willis said “I don’t recall being lobbied on the matter.” Given that Convergence, SIRRL’s public relations firm prides itself on being a ‘government lobbying specialist’ with a representative strategically planted in Wellington for that purpose, it’s fair to presume they were in the government’s ear.

In February, Finance Minister Nicola Willis had to decide if the acquisition of 15 hectares of South Canterbury farmland and significant business assets was contrary to the national interest of New Zealand. 60% Chinese owned South Island Resource Recovery Limited (SIRRL) lodged a consent to purchase the land in May 2023 through the Overseas Investment Office. Willis was required to determine whether the investment was contrary to New Zealand’s national interests as the application was deemed to be of national interest by former Finance Minister Grant Robertson. Willis determined that the investment was not contrary to New Zealand’s national interest. The Minister was provided with a national interest assessment report completed by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). The LINZ prepared report included input from a cross-government panel of advisors, including the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), the New Zealand Intelligence Service (NZSIS), the Ministry of Agriculture and Trade (MFAT), the Department of Conservation (DOC), and Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora. The report provided special conditions from LINZ. One of these conditions was that the company must not import waste feedstock from outside the South Island. The report stated that the applicant was willing to accept that condition. However, Willis removed the condition.  Newsroom asked Willis’ office: Why did she veto the condition? Was it because of lobbying from the company? If not, what other advice led to that decision? Willis responded: “Having read the assessment report, I formed my own view which was that the Environment Court was better placed to assess any impacts through the resource management consent process. I do not recall having been lobbied on this matter.” Willis’ actions inconsistent The national interest report provided to Willis stated that the investment relied on the company to acquire resource consent to build and operate the proposed W-t-E plant. The report also suggested that the applicant may struggle to source the waste entirely from the South Island. Whatever the reason for Willis to remove that condition, her decision removes a significant hurdle for the applicant if the condition remains in place. The Minister stated in her Newsroom response that her view was “The Environment Court was better placed to assess any impacts through the resource management consent process”. However, the national interest report contained several other special conditions to accompany SIRRL’s consent, which Minister Willis did not remove. Surely, if the Environment Court had been better placed to assess impacts regarding the importation of waste, it would also have been better placed to determine all the effects raised in the special conditions.