Lloyd Hollaway | January 25, 2021 from GlobalHQ on Vimeo.
Last year an Ospri-backed control programme on the 15,000-hectare Tataraakina C block was put on hold after trust member Nigel Baker applied to the court for an injunction preventing what was described as further damage and injury to the block and associated wahi tapu sites.
Baker opposed a proposal by Clinton Hemana, the Tataraakina C Trust’s responsible trustee, designed to control bovine TB emerging from the block.
The proposal had two parts: firstly ground control in the western and eastern areas of the block where overgrown tracks would be cleared and secondly, an aerial drop of 1080 over the remainder of the block, which is difficult to access by ground.
Baker objected to the track clearing because of the impact that would have on areas of cultural significance.
He was also concerned that 1080 would harm Tataraakina’s environment, with waterways, fish and birds poisoned by the drop.
He says the proposed poisoning would breach the terms of the Nga Whenua Rahui Covenant and that there was an overwhelming lack of support from the block owners for the proposal.
Instead, he called for a land-based trapping programme.
Ospri subsidiary TBfree’s chief adviser Mark Neill told the court that using only ground-based control methods in the area over 10 years would cost more than $22 million. A sole aerial programme over the same timeframe would cost about $2m, while a combined aerial and ground approach, like the one proposed, would be about $6.7m for the same period.
In his recently released reserved decision, Chief Judge Watson Isaac noted that two previous applications – in 2004 and 2009 – for an injunction to stop planned aerial 1080 operations were unsuccessful.
In 2004 the court found that a clause in the trust’s order gave trustees the authority to deal with the land as if they were the absolute owners and that the Nga Whenua Rahui Covenant did not prohibit the distribution of 1080 on the land.
Isaac says nothing has substantially changed in the trust deed or covenant since the previous application.
“The Trustee is acting lawfully and within the powers of the Trust and the Kawenata (covenant). There has been no unlawful act to cause injury to the land in terms of the trust or the Kawenata and the application must therefore fail,” he said.
In assessing the impact of the proposal on the environment, Isaac says the Nga Whenua Rahui Trust favoured Hemana’s proposal on the basis that the benefits of a 1080 aerial drop are well established, and that the current Hawke’s Bay TB outbreak is a serious matter and must be addressed and effectively controlled.
It is confident that, given the terrain of the block, aerial distribution of 1080 is the most effective technique.
Isaac says it’s also important to acknowledge that Hemana did not accept Ospri’s preferred aerial approach to pest control on the Tataraakina C block, and instead looked for a solution that would not only be environmentally-friendly, but also protect wahi tapu on the block, resulting in the combined aerial and ground-based approach.
Baker’s submission that there was overwhelming dissent by the block’s owners also failed to satisfy Isaac, who said at a special meeting held in August 2020, of the block’s 1143 listed owners, 18 voted against the proposal and 15 voted for it.
“The trustee must consider what will be in the best interest of all owners, not just those who vote,” he said.
“The Court has heard comprehensive evidence from owners and representatives of both Tataraakina C and neighbouring blocks who have indicated their support for the aerial drop proposal.
“These owners emphasised the combined effort required across the board for the eradication of pests to stamp out bovine TB throughout Hawke’s Bay.”
Isaac noted that this was the third application of its kind to injunct the trustee from exercising their powers under the trust order.
“Should there be another application, there will be an order for security for costs before that application proceeds,” he said.
Ospri general manager of service delivery (North Island) Daniel Schmidt says Ospri was not party to the court proceedings, but it acknowledged the court’s decision and continues to work proactively with the trust on the next steps to prevent the further spread of TB.
“We remain vigilant and concerned about TB in Hawke’s Bay and we will continue to undertake ground-control operations to manage the risk of TB spreading in the region and to reduce the number of infected herds,” Schmidt said.
It is not clear when the Tataraakina C block control programme will begin, but in response to a question about whether it would be delayed until winter when there would be less food available for possums so they would be more likely to take poisoned bait, Schmidt says the effectiveness of control operations in the area is not significantly affected by season and available food supply for possums.
