According to the ceo of the port of Tauranga, Leonard Samspon, a lack of infrastructure development approval – chiefly for the Stella Passage project – is proving harmful to shipping in New Zealand and, more broadly, the country’s economy.
Sampson even claimed that the port is “currently turning away shipping services that want to call at Tauranga, which is negatively impacting the New Zealand economy.”
Deemed by the port of Tauranga as being of regional and national importance, the Stella Passage development involves extending the Sulphur Point container berth by 385 m – in two stages – and the Mount Maunganui wharves by 315 m, along with converting existing cargo storage land within the port’s current operations.
After a New Zealand High Court upheld a judicial review of the port of Tauranga’s fast-track application for the Stella Passage development earlier this year, the end of November saw New Zealand minister for infrastructure, Chris Bishop MP, accept the port’s request to refer the development resource consent application to a fast-track process.
The application, which is the same as that lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in April this year as a ‘listed project’ under schedule 2 of the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024, is running alongside the port’s listed project application – currently on hold. In August of this year the High Court determined that the EPA should not have accepted the application as the project was not exactly as descried in schedule 2 of the Act.
According to the port of Tauranga, ministers are hopeful that the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill will be passed into legislation by the end of the year. If this proves impossible, the port intends to avoid further delays by having an alternative, direct referral application already underway.
