By MAETZIG, Rob THREE containers washed overboard on Saturday will be removed from near the entrance to Port Taranaki before they become a hazard to shipping or the environment.

By MAETZIG, Rob HAVE YOUR SAY TELL us what you think of the proposed ban on backyard burn- ups. E-mail us at editor@tnl.co.nz -------------------- BACKYARD rubbish fires anywhere in Taranaki could be banned permanently.

O NE of the hard lessons to come out of Port Taranaki's sudden loss of a $90 million coal trade is that you can never beat the politicians when it comes to breath- taking duplicity. Three years ago Pike River Coal Ltd tried to find a way of exporting coal from its mine inland from Greymouth.

By MAETZIG, Rob and FAIRFAX A TARANAKI-LED consortium is poised to sue the Pike River Coal Company over its decision to abandon a scheme to export South Island coal through Port Taranaki.

By MAETZIG, Rob PORT TARANAKI suffered a body-blow yesterday with news that a South Island coal mine has reneged on an export coal contract that would have earned the port at least $80 million.