My Account
The first of three resource consent applications by McCallum Brothers to mine sand off the coast from Pakiri/Mangawhai has been rejected.
The decision, released on May 6, was made by independent commissioners, on behalf of Auckland Council. A Council spokesperson says the remaining two applications will be considered independently of this month’s decision and a joint hearing is expected to start at the end of July.
The two remaining applications are both for 35 years. One (inshore) is seeking to renew McCallum’s consent to extract to 76,000m3 of sand per year, while the second (mid-shore) is a new application to extract an annual average of up to 125,000m3 over any consecutive five year period, and a maximum rate of 150,000m3 over any 12 month period.
Council said McCallum Brothers had indicated that should the mid-shore consent be granted, the inshore application would be withdrawn.
In rejecting the first application, the commissioners felt that they did not have enough reliable information to fully understand the coastal processes. They felt there remained a lot of uncertainty about the coastal processes taking place, as well as the actual and potential effects of the sand extraction on those processes.
“In addition, we have accepted the evidence of mana whenua and Mr Hopkins [a Council planner] that there are significant adverse effects on mana whenua values,” their decision said.
The consent’s original applicant (Kaipara Limited) transferred all interests in the applications and its existing coastal permit to McCallum Brothers last October.
Meanwhile, groups campaigning against the sand mining are celebrating the first round win.
Last year, Greenpeace supported the formation of Save Our Sands Pakiri-Mangawhai, a collective of civil society groups, tangata whenua and concerned locals.
Together, their mission is to stop the 100-year-old sand mining operation along the Pakiri-Mangawhai coast, home to rare species including the critically endangered fairy tern, of which less than 40 remain.
Greenpeace Aotearoa seabed mining campaigner James Hita says this month’s decision is a win for people-power and another example of how community groups are successfully fighting seabed mining.
“But protecting the environment shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of community groups,” he says.
“The government needs to ban all forms of seabed mining to protect diverse ecosystems and stop the drain on ordinary people’s time and resources.”
Hita says the sand extraction is causing erosion, threatening the sand dunes, destroying shellfish beds, ruining surf breaks and stealing safe nesting spots from endangered birds.
A Save our Sands petition calling for an end to sand mining at Pakiri has more than 8000 signatures (https://community.greenpeace.org.nz/petitions/mangawhai-pakiri-so).
