Undeclared hazardous waste on Rena

The discovery that undeclared hazardous goods on the grounded cargo ship Rena may be leaching toxins into the sea highlights the importance of looking after our natural environment, said the Green Party today.

"It is deeply concerning to learn that another substance is threatening the marine environment of the Bay of Plenty. First it was oil, now it is a toxic by-product of the aluminium smelting process," said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

Maritime New Zealand today announced the discovery on board the Rena of 21 containers containing 490 tonnes of the toxic substance Cryolite, a by-product from the aluminium smelting process. Seventeen containers are understood to be submerged, which means the substance could be leaching toxins into the sea.

"It's not good enough that the hazardous substances were not declared. We urgently need to get to the bottom of who was responsible for withholding the information," said Mrs Turei.

"We also need to do everything we can to make coastal shipping safer. Ships regularly carry hazardous goods in New Zealand waters, and we need to make sure accidents like this don't happen again.

"The Green Party has been campaigning for stronger environmental protections for our coastlines. Last week we released our oil protection plan which included promoting measures to make coastal shipping safer.

"We would implement higher standards for coastal shipping that support the use of local crews and ships that know New Zealand waters and hazards.

"The Green Party is committed to looking after our beautiful coastline and ocean and protecting them from hazards such as oil and toxic substances."