A 1000 hectare block of land on the Kaitōrete Spit near Christchurch may become home to a new rocket launch site.
The land has been bought by a joint venture between the government and two local rūnanga, Te Taumutu Runanga and Warewa Rūnanga, called Project Tāwhaki.
The venture aims to develop aerospace research facilities, including a possible launch pad.
It will also protect and rejuvenate the unique Kaitōrete ecosystem with fencing, limited farming activity, and the planting of 5000 native plants over two years.
The 1000 hectares were bought from farming company Wongan Hills with $16 million of Crown funding.
The sale is part of an agreement with Wongan Hills related to an Environment Court case brought by Forest & Bird. The case claimed the company destroyed a large area of rare and threatened native plant, called shrubby tororaro, on the spit.
Research, science and innovation minister Megan Woods said the joint venture was focused on conservation management, investigating consents and technical feasibility for an aerospace research and launch site on the spit, and attracting aerospace investment in the project.
“We are all in agreement that any aerospace activity must be compatible with the protection of [the spit's] threatened plants, animals and ecosystems,” she said.
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“This is about seeing what investment attraction we can bring here.
“We are not talking about a very large built facility. It can be quite a small footprint on this land. But that allows us to unlock the potential.”
The two rūnanga are represented in the joint venture by a new company called Kaitōrete Limited. Company director David Perenara-O’Connell said the venture would hopefully provide funding for the rejuvenation of the spit’s unique ecosystem.
Kaitōrete Spit is home to rare and locally endemic plant, invertebrate and reptile species, with internationally recognised ecological value.
“This is the first time that the two rūnanga have come together like this on a commercial venture that seeks to provide great benefits to the area that we both hold so deep in our hearts.”
He said the spit was a significant historical site.
“Historically, Kaitōrete was our tribal State Highway One, a major highway and trade route for our ancestors.
“It is our role and duty to make sure we honour this past – those who have lived, travelled and fallen in this special area – by protecting and restoring its values and reaffirming our relationship to this whenua for future generations.”
The land will be on a three-year lease back to former owner Wongan Hills as part of the transition. The lease revenue will help fund early research and conservation work.
He said the project was called Project Tāwhaki after a demi-God in Māori mythology who climbed into the heavens.
“We have chosen the name as it speaks to the heart of what all this is about.
“In climbing to the heavens, Tāwhaki sought the knowledge and understanding to guide and support a way of life on earth.”
Kaitōrete Spit was considered as a possible launch site for RocketLab in 2015 due to the low number of planes or boats using the area and its easy access to Christchurch.
However, Rocket Lab eventually settled on the Mahia Peninsula because the resource consent allowed more launches per year. The Kaitōrete site was given consent to launch only 12 rockets per year.
The spit also has a history of aerospace research, as it was used by NASA for suborbital rocket launches in the 1960s.
New Zealand’s space economy was valued at $1.7 billion in the 2018/9 financial year, employing 12,000 people.
Mark Rocket, chief executive of unmanned high-altitude solar aircraft company Kea Aerospace, said Christchurch was already a gateway to the Antarctic and would soon “be a gateway to space”.
Dawn Aerospace, which makes reusable rockets designed to carry small satellites into space, welcomed the proposed facility.
“We look forward to hearing from Kaitōrete Limited and the government with details of their proposed services, facilities and offering,” a spokeswoman said.
