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February 5, 2024
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Environment Court swayed by iwi division on Dome landfill It’s been revealed that the Dome Valley landfill resource consent may have been refused if the Ngāti Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust had not reversed its decision to oppose the project. The Environment Court’s interim decision, which was released just days before Christmas, says it would have endorsed Commissioner Sheena Tepania’s view that consent should be refused “but for the change of position by Ngāti Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust”. Tepania chaired the Auckland Council panel in 2021 that granted Waste Management NZ (WM) resource consent, but disagreed with her associates on a number of key issues, including cultural, ecological and the need for a new mega landfill. Judges Jeff Smith and Melinda Dickey said in their December decision that they placed “some weight” on Ngati Manuhiri’s switch from opposing the landfill to working with WM, and would have otherwise endorsed Tepania’s decision and conclusion. Instead, they have given WM the opportunity to revisit its application, saying that a modified request with improved design and more conditions and management plans, could meet Resource Management Act requirements. Although Ngati Manuhiri had initially been lukewarm in its opposition to the plan to build a regional landfill in Wellsford’s backyard, it later strengthened its opposition and became a major partner alongside all those opposing the project. But in January last year, it was revealed that in exchange for Ngati Manuhiri support, WM had agreed to several conditions, including a return of 1060ha of Waste Management landholdings once the site was no longer required, $2 million to construct six homes nearby, and a $10 million environment fund should the Hoteo River be exposed to risk.
Walking tracks are busy with summer visitors. Wendy Holmes from the UK used the cleaning station at Matheson Bay last week.
Ngati Manuhiri strengthened its bargaining position by first opposing the landfill, and then capitulated after negotiating a financial deal with Waste Management. That decision has influenced the Environment Court and had major ramifications for the groups opposing the project. Te Rūnanga ō Ngāti Whātua is now imploring Ngāti Manuhiri to reconsider its partnership position with Waste Management in light of the court’s statement, and is challenging the interim decision in the High Court (see story page 2). Ngāti Whātua said this confirmed its longheld belief it had an arguable case worthy of success, “in spite of the naysayers”. “Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua hopes to meet with Ngāti Manuhiri to resolve this issue in a tikanga-based way that avoids the ‘divide and conquer’ approach currently at play,” a spokesperson said. Ngāti Whātua said other errors of law in the decision included a finding that there was a “common understanding” between tangata whenua that the landfill site was solely within the rohe, or territory, of
Kauri dieback stations cause concern
Ngāti Manuhiri. It claimed there was no evidence to support this, nor any evidence to support a position that the landfill site could be “carved out” artificially. It also said the court failed to assess and apply a binding High Court “strength of relationship” precedent. Te Rūnanga ō Ngāti Whātua co-chair Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish said
A former Department of Conservation staffer and keen tramper is concerned that cleaning stations at entries to the Dome walkway may not be effective in preventing potentially devastating damage to mature kauri along the trail. Bruce Martin says DOC is not maintaining the cleaning stations adequately, and is not using the option of premixed water and the agricultural disinfectant Sterigene – an approach which he says has worked well elsewhere. The cleaning stations feature a mechanism that auto-mixes water with Sterigene at a specified ratio, and that mixture sprays up onto the underside of the shoes of a person pumping down on the treadle. Brushes, scrapers, and drench guns squirting water are also available. But Martin says that due to heavy use at busy
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Commissioner Sheena Tepania.
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