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A leading economist says sandmining company McCallum Brothers benefit estimate of $266.5 million is unsound and provides no reliable indication of the overall economic impact.
Founder of Axiom Economics, one of Australasia’s leading economic consultancies, Hayden Green, who is also a Bream Bay resident, says that after analysing McCallum’s ‘high-level assessment of economic effects’ he found it lacking.
“The assessment is opaque, non-replicable and riddled with errors and omissions – many of which significantly overstate the economic benefits while understating or ignoring the proposal’s costs,” Green says.
He says McCallum’s economic assessment shows unsound assumptions regarding alternative sand sources, such as manufactured and land-based sandmining, and the important environmental and social impacts of sandmining at Bream Bay are not even included.
Bream Bay Guardians (BBG) spokesperson Bruce Copeland said Green’s analysis highlighted how the fast-track panel could potentially receive misleading information.
“The incomplete nature of McCallum Brothers’ economic assessment makes it impossible to properly gauge the true costs and benefits of the proposal,” Copeland said.
“The panel can’t possibly place any weight on the figures in the report – they’re completely unreliable.
“Even if there are benefits, it’s unclear who would actually see them. There’s little indication that Northlanders, or even Aucklanders, would gain in any meaningful way. Instead, it appears the main beneficiary could be a single company. That’s a far cry from ‘significant national or regional benefits’ that the fast-track bill requires.”
McCallum Brothers want to extract nine million cubic metres of marine sand from Bream Bay over 35 years.
Along with BBG, opposition group No Sandmining in Bream Bay (NSBB) mobilised 1500 people to form a human Say No sign on Ruakaka beach on January 26 and a Great Boat Protest is planned for March 16 attended by Greenpeace.
BBG has called the fast-track process “shoddy,” arguing it prioritises private profit over genuine economic benefit, Copeland says.
“The government says it wants to drive economic growth by cutting red and green tape, but in its haste, projects like this sandmining proposal are slipping through.
“Some companies have invested their own money into more sustainable alternatives that support economic growth while respecting the environment. It’s concerning that one company, through connections or lobbying, can have its project fast-tracked and gain access to sand potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars for next to nothing. That hardly seems fair.”
McCallum Bros has stated publicly that concerns about the project, raised by both the Department of Conservation and locals, will be addressed through 15 comprehensive assessments of effects and technical reports being prepared.
Hayden Green’s full letter on the Bream Bay proposal can be read here: Bream+Bay+Sand+Extraction+-+Assessment+of+Economic+Effects+(12+February+2025).pdf
