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The Department of Conservation is under attack amid claims it has been bought off by developers planning a controversial wind farm in Central Otago.
Meridian Energy has agreed to pay DOC a six figure sum if it drops its objections and the wind farm goes ahead.
Meridian wants to establish a 176 turbine wind farm at a cost of about $2 billion but it's a much smaller sum of money that is creating turbulence.
Documents show that in March 2007 the State Owned Enterprise agreed to pay $175,000 in return for DOC dropping its objections to the wind farm and adopting a neutral stance.
Dunedin author Philip Temple is one of a number of high profile
critics of the wind farm, claiming the DOC deal cuts across the
democratic process.
"All those individuals, private individuals, who saw how stupid the
thing is having to spend all their money and time opposing it when
the agencies that were supposed to be taking responsibility for it
were being bought off," Temple says.
Prime Minister John Key says he will now investigate the deal done under Labour. He says he is not opposed to agencies accepting money to offset environmental impacts but hush money is not acceptable.
DOC says it simply negotiated a deal to meet its environmental concerns and the money was part of the agreement.
"$175,000 is to deal with the access issues to conservation estate and for threatened species such as a monitoring programme on the eastern falcon which is a vulnerable bird in that area," Director General Al Morrison says.
And Meridian says it is common practice to negotiate with objectors.
"If you can get neighbours and interested parties to a point where you can agree a satisfactory outcome for all. It serves a greater purpose than having conditions imposed on you by a court," spokeswoman Claire Shaw says.
And in court is where the project lies for the moment, although the Environment Court is expected to hear final submissions this week.
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