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Plans to include coastal regional parks as part of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park while changes to the governance structure of the body that oversees it are being debated are ringing warning bells with some local politicians.
One is Auckland Councillor John Watson, who says any such changes need to be better publicised so ratepayers can provide feedback, and he fears that the parks could end up being controlled by an unelected authority.
Watson says the proposal to formally investigate the inclusion of 21 of Auckland’s 28 regional parks in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park is “hidden away” in the 460-page Regional Parks Management Plan, currently out for public consultation (Hibiscus Matters, Jan 24).
“On the face of it, this might seem innocuous enough but what they don’t tell anyone is that at the same time, the Hauraki Gulf Forum is pushing for radical changes to its composition and powers.”
Watson is one of seven Auckland councillors who sit on the gulf forum, which “promotes and facilitates integrated management and the protection and enhancement of the Hauraki Gulf”. He says the forum is currently considering adopting a new co-governance leadership set-up, with equal membership between mana whenua and others, as well as an independent funding and administrative model.
“That’s an enormous change and it’s all being done under the radar,” he says.
He says if the coastal regional parks, including Shakespear and Wenderholm, did become part of the Hauraki Gulf, there’s a danger that control of them could be lost.
“While Council would retain ownership and funding responsibility, effective control would pass to the (new) unelected ‘authority’,” he says.
However, Hauraki Gulf Forum executive office Alex Rogers maintains that Cr Watson has nothing to fear. He says parks have always been able to be included as part of the Marine Park, something that was written into the original Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act in 2000, with some in Waitakere already included, as well as DoC land, such as Rangitoto.
However, Rogers says it also says in the Act that the management of such land does not change and, even if the structure and governance of the forum changed, control of regional parks would not be removed from Council.
“Forum members decided last May that it was time to take a look at our Act and whether it should be updated, as it was 22 years ago it came in,” he says. “We’re working through that, and one of the models we’re looking at is the Waikato River Authority. That’s a co-governance body, with equal weighting of mana whenua and others, but has meant no change whatsoever to regional parks.
“You don’t end up with any changes of ownership, management, responsibilities or rights.”
Auckland Council’s general manager for regional services’ planning, investment and partnerships, Justine Haves, agrees, saying it would be a gesture of collaboration with the Marine Park.
“If this policy is approved in the final plan, taking this step would not impact on the ownership, governance or management of the regional parks. This is because the forum is purely an advisory body,” she says.
“The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act 2000 sets up the forum as an advisory body and there are no changes under discussion that would allow it to take on a governance or management role.”
The issues were due to be discussed at a confidential forum workshop on Monday, February 14, and will be on the agenda at the next open Hauraki Gulf Forum meeting on February 28.
Info: https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/regional-parks-management-plan and https://gulfjournal.org.nz/the-hauraki-gulf-forum
