"This is a bad day for recreation users and our conservation estate," says FMC President Megan Dimozantos.

"The Waitaha is one of the country's last intact wild river valleys. Once a scheme like this is built, there is no going back."

The Waitaha valley — including the Morgan Gorge, regarded as one of the finest canyoning destinations in New Zealand — is visited by trampers, canyoners, and whitewater paddlers, and sits on public conservation land.

"FMC has tried to ensure the Panel received crucial information relating to recreational effects.  We alerted the Panel to false and misleading information in Westpower's application — including a Recreational Effects Report that was submitted without correcting factual inaccuracies FMC had specifically raised”, says Megan Dimozantos.

“It appears the Panel has actively avoided receiving such information for consideration. It declined FMC's request to comment, even going so far as releasing a formal minute to confirm they would not be taking any of FMC's correspondence on these concerns into consideration in their decision". 

“The application also included misrepresentation of legal public access to the valley, claims about improved access that Westpower had confirmed it had no plans to deliver, claims that it had consulted with groups and organisations that it hadn’t, and reliance on peer review material more than a decade old.”

FMC is studying the Panel's draft decision and is considering its options for responding, including taking legal advice.