A community united in opposition

Mahurangi Matters sought the views of community leaders in the wake of the commissioners’ decision to grant a resource consent to allow a landfill in the Dome Valley …

Dr Jason Smith
Mayor of Kaipara District Council (KDC)

I am extremely disappointed. The KDC’s elected members voted unanimously to put in a submission rejecting the idea of a landfill, which we did. My feeling is that the broad range of concerns that we had, including about the impacts on traffic and on the future of the waterways, have not been addressed. Waste Management themselves cannot guarantee in perpetuity that the lining of any proposed landfill will last forever. There comes a future point when it is going to fail. In 20, 50 or 500 years from now, people will say what on earth were they thinking? I still believe New Zealand can find better solutions to disposing of waste rather than having a hole in the ground in the bush.

Mikaera Miru
Mikaera led the move to place a rahui on the landfill site and submitted a cultural impact assessment to commissioners on behalf of Ngati Whatua.

It’s an absolute disgrace. The moment Eugenie Sage endorsed the purchase of the land for a landfill, every piece of legislation related to the protection of the waterways has been undermined. Furthermore, there was only one commissioner who supported the input of Maori and the rest of them were totally oblivious to their cultural obligations. I’m calling it out for what it is – institutional racism. We are going to end up with a confrontation with the Crown. Why? Because these clowns have undermined their legal obligations and have provoked the community to go out and fight for the protection of the environment for current and future generations. The police will be involved and people are going to get hurt.     

Marja Lubeck
Mahurangi-based Labour list MP

I think it’s the wrong decision for all the reasons that have been debated. I had my hopes that common sense would prevail that this was not the right thing to do. I think it’s wrong to have landfills in places that could potentially have such far reaching consequences, such as polluting the Kaipara, where we have got the biggest snapper population in the world. I will continue to raise my concerns about the decision with my parliamentary colleagues. At the end of the day, digging a hole in the ground anywhere is not a sustainable or sensible way of dealing with our rubbish. There are alternatives and these need to be investigated.

Earle Wright
Dairy farmer from Tapora and ambassador for IKHMG, which is working to restore the health of the Kaipara Harbour.

I’m furious. I’m gutted – very much so. IKHMG got $300 million to clean up the Kaipara Harbour and we are going to put a dump on top of the catchment? I don’t care how many safety margins you put in, one mistake will wipe out the livelihoods of generations and generations. Also, Commissioner Tepania makes it clear mana whenua were not heard. They did not see the connection Maori have with the land in a spiritual way. I’m actually disgusted the decision used a whole lot of Maori words. They don’t know what they mean. For me, it’s war now. We may need to occupy the area and look at all the options.   

Roger Williams
Roger made a submission to commissioners on behalf of Forest & Bird

I am disappointed that the commissioners were not brave enough to reject the application outright. The carbon emissions from road transport to take rubbish to the dump are nearly 20,000 tonnes per annum higher than they would be for rail transport. This shows a complete disregard for climate change. There is a high fire risk from the tip and from the grass cap. The hill top location and the adjacent forest exacerbate the problem. The highest risk of pollution is from flash floods that could wipe out leachate treatment. The protection of flora and fauna is inadequate.

Chris Penk
National MP for Kaipara ki Mahurangi

I’m disappointed that a lack of central Government attention to the issue of waste disposal has led us to this place. I’ve written to the Government on more than one occasion asking that some imagination and investment be applied, as alternative solutions are available overseas. It seems inevitable that the Environment Court will now consider the matter and, as an MP, I can’t tread on the judges’ toes. That said, it will be interesting to see arguments made around rainfall and earthquakes, in particular, as I observed some contention on those points when attending hearings. I’ll keep pushing for more enlightened waste disposal methods to be provided. 

Phelan Pirrie
Rodney Local Board chair

The real issue here is about how we deal with our waste in the biggest city in New Zealand.
New Zealand has the worst rates of recycling and diversion from landfill in the OECD. Rubbish dumps, and the associated negative effects on the environment, will continue unless the Government moves to change this. I believe this is a watershed moment for the Government. They should step in to put a hold on this, which they can do, and instead invest in national recycling facilities and waste-to-energy schemes so we can divert more waste from landfill. This would avoid the need for huge sites such as the one proposed.

Stuart Windross
Stuart made a submission on behalf of the Mahurangi East Residents and Ratepayers Association (MERRA).

We are disappointed and sadly disillusioned with process. MERRA opposed the landfill and its unacceptable traffic impacts. We argued that inevitable CO2 emissions, road deaths and congestion from hundreds of waste trucks daily were unacceptable and counter to Council’s own policies and promises. We showed that rail transport greatly reduced these effects and highlighted shortfalls in Waste Management’s traffic assessment that were never explored. Our community laments the opportunity missed for road users, rejuvenated rail, our environment, and indeed, Council’s credibility.

Greg Sayers
Auckland Councillor for Rodney

What does it take for the voice of the community and iwi to be heard? People are feeling let down at the process, given the proposal was approved despite intense opposition. It still doesn’t make sense to me as to why the Council would allow a landfill on streams that lead into the Kaipara Harbour when on the other hand the Government is investing $300 million to clean up the Harbour and protect it.

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