“The interim report will not be released at this time, following advice from the Crown Review Team that doing so could risk prejudicing investigations or enforcement action by the regional council, as well as any potential commercial or legal action arising from the incident,” Watts told the Herald in a statement.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts says while the public deserve answers on the Moa Point failure, there is a legal risk in release the interim report’s findings publicly. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“I understand the frustration of those affected by the Moa Point incident, you deserve answers,” he said.
“My priority is ensuring the review is completed properly and the Crown Review Team’s natural justice obligations are met.”
The final report is due by the end of August, and Watts said he would release that report “as soon as practicable after it is finalised”.
Officials have not ruled out legal action over the failure, with the Greater Wellington Regional Council investigating possible breaches of the Resource Management Act.
Govt ‘not taking Moa Point seriously enough,’ Genter says
The revelations have been described as “really disappointing” by local Rongotai MP and Green Party infrastructure spokesperson Julie Anne Genter.
Genter earlier advocated for transparency, calling for the Crown review to be held through public meetings.
“I think people will appreciate that there will be legal sensitivities but, at the very least, Wellingtonians deserve a timeframe for the release of this report,” she said in a statement.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if the problem had been fixed but it hasn’t, over the last five months around 10.5 billion litres of untreated wastewater has flowed into the sea.
“The feedback I get is that people feel there’s been a lack of urgency from the Government when it comes to solving this huge problem.”
Genter said further delays for answers will, for many Wellingtonians “reinforce the idea that the Government is not taking Moa Point seriously enough”.
Labour’s Wellington issues spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said it was “important the full report is delivered sooner rather than later so the disaster at Moa Point doesn’t happen again”.
Verrall earlier hit out at “radio silence” and a lack of information from Wellington Water following the failure.
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said the interim report is ultimately “for the minister to release when he decides to”, noting Watts was being guided by the advice of the Crown Review team.
“I’ve said consistently that the public deserves answers and full transparency about what happened at Moa Point,” Little said in a statement.
Wellingtonians’ untreated wastewater continues to be discharged from a 1.8km pipe into the Cook Strait, while the plant remains inoperable.
Frustration over the disaster has mounted, with South Coast locals packing out a public meeting to demand answers from officials.
In March, Wellington Water officials revealed trapped air bubbles were believed to be the likely cause of the flooding, which led to the failure, after a hydraulic report found a design flaw in the facility.
Current estimates suggest work to repair the plant will cost $53.5 million, but the facility is insured.
Included in that is $10.9m to improve the plant beyond its operational state before the incident, which is not covered by insurance, but could be paid for by council funding already provided to Wellington Water, officials said in May.
The Herald today revealed the plant has an overflow event hours before it catastrophically failed, with crews forced to abandon the site due to a high flow alarm.
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.