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Speakers were unanimous in their contempt for the Dome Valley resource consent.
There is hope and there is strength when the whole community pulls together – that was the overriding message at an anti-landfill hui held in Wellsford last month.
The mood of the 200 people present was determined and resolute as they listened to speaker after speaker denounce Auckland Council’s decision to grant Waste Management NZ resource consent to build a new regional dump in the Dome Valley (see panel).
Environmental lawyer Andrew Braggins, representing Fight the Tip: Tiaki Te Whenua, outlined how people could add their voice to the nine appeals against the consent being made in the Environment Court.
He said the easiest way was to act as a witness and offer to give evidence on behalf of Fight the Tip, or any other appellant.
Fight the Tip executive Michelle Carmichael said last week there was no deadline yet to being a witness, and that fundraising to pay for what would be substantial legal, witness and court costs was now an ongoing priority.
“If anyone has any fundraising ideas, we’d love to know about them,” she said.
One such event is a movie afternoon in Mangawhai on Sunday, August 8, when Sustainable Kaipara and Plastic Free Mangawhai are showing the One Ocean film tour at the Mangawhai Movie Theatre in Molesworth Drive from 3pm. Tickets cost $25 or $12 for children, from Bammas surf shop, and include drinks and nibbles. All proceed to Fight the Tip.
Anyone who is interested in acting as a witness for Fight the Tip in the Enviroment Court should email fightthetip.nz@gmail.com or visit
What they said:
Mikaera Miru, Fight the Tip – Imagine in 100 years’ time – our grandchildren will be saying ‘What were they all thinking? What did they do?’ We’re protecting our environment for our children and for our grandchildren. If we don’t do that, we don’t deserve to live in such a beautiful area.
Michelle Carmichael, Fight the Tip – Contrary to what planners think, we know there are high impacts this could have. Mitigating risks is not eliminating them. Even if Auckland Council doesn’t know, we know it’s important to stop this. We have to continue the fight.
Alan Rikara, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua – This is a really bad decision. Those four commissioners got this very wrong. But we have the power of support and encouragement and community.
Ringi Brown, Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust – Ngati Manuhiri has a long association with the awa Hoteo, our stones are in there. We’ll be up for a big fight. If we’re going to occupy, we need to be ready for that.
Marja Lubeck, MP – This is a community fight. This is not a case of nimbyism, it’s the most ridiculous idea to build a landfill on top of waterways. If anything happens to our waterways, we’re stuffed.
Greg Sayers, Rodney Councillor – I don’t work for Auckland Council, I work for you. It’s nice to see a united front and a community leading for change.
Colin Smith, Rodney Local Board – Auckland Council speaks with two tongues. At one end, they’re telling us we have to protect the environment and are getting stuck into farmers, at the other, Waste Management gets a free ticket. How the hell does that happen?
Jason Smith, Kaipara Mayor – Kaipara District Council has consistently opposed the idea of this landfill and will be joining in appeals. We’re doing everything we can to absolutely stop this huge environmental injustice.
Andrew Braggins, environmental lawyer – There are a lot of genuine and substantial concerns. We are working with the lawyers of DOC and Forest & Bird, and all the smaller organisations. Together, there is a formidable team.
Roger Williams, transport engineer – The additional mileage from Redvale to here equates to 20,000 tonnes of carbon a year into the environment. If that’s not against the principles of government and Council around climate change, I don’t know what is.
Sue Crockett, Fight the Tip –The first outcome is to stop the tip in the Dome. The second is to work with Parliament and come up with a nationwide waste strategy. That’s an obvious next step. Right now, we stop the tip.
Susan Speedy, Dome Valley resident – Dome Valley is a supply of clean, fresh water that’s been completely undervalued. The landfill valley could make a reservoir for the entire area. It should be a significant ecological area. It’s an area too precious to risk.
