Mahia, We Have a Problem
Pauline Tangiora lives in a house in the quiet hills behind Mahia, beyond a sign warning off oil and gas companies. The sliding door is plastered with stickers testifying to half a century spent fighting for peace around the world. One reads: “military solutions are problems”. Now in her 80s, Tangiora has faced down soldiers in Chiapas, Mexico, with Indigenous communities defending their land, and has been kicked out of Tahiti for protesting French nuclear-weapons tests. In the lead-up to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, she comforted children in a Baghdad hospital who suffered from leukaemia brought about by uranium-tipped bombs dropped by the US during the previous Gulf War. She has spoken at the United Nations, met with the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and in the words of one colleague, is known as the “leading kuia in the peace movement globally”.
Pauline Tangiora was sitting in a comfy chair by her door when the CEO of a billion-dollar space company stopped by for a cup of tea.
These days, Tangiora spends more time at home than she used to, much of it in a comfy chair by the door. This was where she sat four years ago when the CEO of a billion-dollar space company stopped by for a cup of tea. The Mahia Peninsula had been chosen as the launch site for US company Rocket Lab, and founder and CEO Peter Beck was paying Tangiora a visit to see how she felt about it.
By this point, Rocket Lab was no longer just a plucky Kiwi start-up. Beck, a self-taught rocket engineer from Southland, had created a company that was fast becoming the world leader in the emerging small-launch market, with its lightweight Electron rocket allowing small satellites to be launched cheaper and faster than ever before. Launches from Mahia were set to start soon, with customers booked for years into the future.
When Mahia was first chosen, Tangiora had some concerns. But after speaking to company representatives and attending public information sessions at the local town hall, she felt reassured that the environmental impact would be minimal and that the technology would benefit New Zealand farmers and orchardists.
By the time Peter Beck stopped by, Tangiora had given Rocket Lab her blessing in media outlets from the Wairoa Star to the Wall Street Journal. In November 2016, she was one of a few locals invited to attend the launch-site opening, presided over by Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce. While some in the community weren’t happy with Tangiora’s decision, she thought it was the right thing to do.
But as Tangiora spoke with Beck in her living room, something was already starting to trouble the old peace activist. She had heard rumours of the company’s military connections, rumours that didn’t sit well with her decades of activism. But not knowing whether they were true or not, Tangiora didn’t say anything.
Before long, signs appeared declaring the tiny beach community — population 1100 — “the home of Rocket Lab”. The Wairoa District Council made plans for a “Space Coast” cycleway and Mahia’s campground inserted aliens into its logo. Trucks carried rocket components and satellites on roads the government was pumping millions into upgrading. Local internet access, previously sluggish, got better. With their American accents and branded t-shirts, Rocket Lab staff were easy to spot at the pub. Rocket Lab brought a sense of opportunity. It even
