Shocking situation with Te Awamutu decision

On Wednesday 14 August, a shocking email arrived for all of us who submitted against the Te Awamutu incinerator. The email was from the Environmental Protection Agency. It said they would stop processing the resource consent application for the incinerator until the company paid the bill for the hearing. 

“This suspension will pause all statutory processing timeframes, including the decision due date which was the 28 August 2025,” the email said.

“Due to the process being suspended, this decision due date will no longer remain valid. If processing is resumed, we will provide an updated date, in line with the remaining statutory timeframe, in which the Board of Inquiry must make a decision.

“If the applicant subsequently pays the costs recoverable by the EPA, we will lift our suspension on processing their consent application. We will write to you again if this occurs.’

Under the RMA, the costs for a Board of Inquiry are borne by the applicant. But it seems that Global Contracting Solutions has refused to pay this. The company is also refusing to pay the Waikato Regional Council and Waipā District Council for money owing in this same consent process. This was all reported in the Te Awamutu News “Incinerator inquiry goes cold” and Waikato Times “Unpaid bills could lay waste to incinerator plans.”

This outcome is particularly disturbing given the company's existing history of non-compliance with resource consenting law. We will keep you posted when we find out more. In the meantime, please share our petition to keep Aotearoa NZ incinerator-free!