Bad blood spills over into landfill hearing

Annie Baines Warnings against airing dirty laundry, mud-slinging and finger-pointing were all voiced in the Environment Court recently, when the feuding chairs of Ngati Manuhiri Settlement Trust (NMST) and Omaha Marae were cross-examined on their cultural evidence. Judge Jeff Smith urged both parties to try to settle their differences, if only to deal not only with the current landfill hearing, but the equally contentious upcoming Pakiri sand mining appeals. The court heard that new evidence submitted by NMST chair Mook Hohneck and marae chair Annie Baines showed obvious differences in opinion...