Mahurangi Matters, 26 May 2025 – Off the Record

Tipping point

The apparently infinite capacity for human error and technological failure was amply demonstrated at a public meeting to oppose the proposed Dome Valley rubbish dump recently. When the mike stopped working several times and someone literally pulled the plug on the speaker system by tripping over a cable, Fight the Tip’s Michelle Carmichael commented this was exactly why a landfill in the Dome should never be consented. “Because s*** happens and you cannot stop it. Technology fails and that is what we’re fighting to protect the environment from – those times when all their mitigation will inevitably fail to work.”

Leash law lapse

It turns out that dogs have been running unfettered on the walkway at the northern end of Snells Beach for the past six years unlawfully, due to a council cock-up. During a long and often confusing deep dive into dog bylaws, staff told last week’s Rodney Local Board meeting they wanted to change the current off-leash reserve north of Kokihi Lane to on-leash only. “An added complication is that the rule for Whisper Cove shown in the 2019 version as off-leash is actually a drafting error,” the officer confessed. “The actual rule is on-leash at all times. However, this has been incorrectly shown as off-leash in the policy and council’s website.” Unfortunately for dogs, this anomaly will now be corrected.