Waikato-Tainui announced a partnership on Friday with global investment firm Brookfield to develop the Ruakura Superhub, an inland port in Waikato that services more than half of the country’s GDP.

However, Ōnuku Rūnanga chair Rik Tainui has urged the council to forge ahead with decommissioning the plant at Takapūneke urgently. Tainui said the planned scheme could mean raw sewage was ...