Court moves to marae to hear Pakiri plead its case, again

Master carver Wyvern Rosieur spoke about the significance of the carvings around the marae during the powhiri to welcome the court.

The Environment Court relocated to Omaha Marae for two days last week to hear from Pakiri landowners and residents whose families have been trying to stop companies from taking the area’s distinctive ‘glistening white sands’ for generations.

This was the third time in recent years that local whanau had had to stand up and explain their deep-seated connection to the land and coast left to them by their ancestors, and the effects that 80 years of sand mining ...