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Opponents to offshore sand mining near Mangawhai and Pakiri have called on Auckland Council to put a halt to “unconsented” near-shore extraction.
The Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society (MHRS) and Friends of Pakiri allege that McCallum Bros’ near-shore sand mining is continuing despite a lapsed consent.
McCallum’s consent expired last September and opponents say that efforts to renew the consent have halted, therefore, extraction should stop.
Friends of Pakiri legal counsel Sir David Williams QC has asked Council to issue an abatement notice to McCallum Bros to cease mining.
MHRS spokesperson Ken Rayward says Council has yet to respond to the request, which was made on July 5. He says in the meantime, the surf breaks at Te Arai beach have been damaged by mining.
“Auckland Council has been apathetic in monitoring miners and their methods. The mining is an act of eco-terrorism and shows total indifference to the coastal ecology,” he says.
Meanwhile, McCallum Bros points the finger at Council for the apparent lack of progress on the consent.
In a statement to Mahurangi Matters, chief operating officer Shayne Elstob says McCallum applied to renew its consent in February last year and the application was accepted for consideration by Council in November.
“We are awaiting on Council to advise of next steps,” he says.
He says in the meantime, it continues to lawfully extract sand under the previous consent, supplying sand critically needed for City Rail Link and other projects.
Sand mining activities recently came under immense pressure at a separate resource consent hearing. This time to consider an application by Kaipara Ltd to extract sand further offshore. The hearing heard allegations of breaching consent conditions and causing damage to the seafloor.
MHRS and Friends of Pakiri have urged Auckland and Northland Regional Councils to investigate the possibility of prosecuting both McCallum Bros and Kaipara Ltd under the Resource Management Act.
Kaipara Ltd’s resource consent hearing is on pause while a survey of the seafloor is undertaken to investigate the condition of the seafloor.
Auckland Council was contacted for comment but had not responded by the time Mahurangi Matters went to press.
