New board office opens with blessing and a protest

More than 12 years after the creation of the Auckland ‘super city’, Rodney Local Board finally has its own base in Warkworth.

The new Elizabeth Street offices and meeting rooms were formally blessed and opened on March 1 in a ceremony attended by board members and staff, Auckland Council’s corporate property team, Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers and Ngati Manuhiri representatives.

Proceedings were delayed slightly by the presence of a small group of protesters, including members of the Northern Action Group and Fight the Tip, who were objecting not to the local board, but to the Ngati Manuhiri Settlement Trust, who were due to carry out the karakia. Bearing placards objecting to the trust’s recent backflip from opposing to supporting Waste Management NZ’s plans for a huge new regional dump in the Dome, the protesters stood to one side of the board offices, greeting board members they knew and chatting with three Warkworth Police officers, who walked across from the nearby police station to see what was going on.

Auckland Council’s Matanga – Tikanga me Te Reo Maori, or Maori language and cultural practices expert, Richard Nahi, went across the street to the settlement trust offices to discuss how the protest should be dealt with to minimise any disruption to the ceremony.

In the end, he carried out the blessing on behalf of Council, with members of Ngati Manuhiri present, “to avoid any drama”. He acknowledged all the people present, including the protesters, and also acknowledged the local community and the importance of the environment.

Nahi then led everyone present, again including the protesters, around the new offices, finishing in the new meeting room where there were speeches and waiata. He again stressed the importance of blessing the facility and the people who would work, meet and make important decisions for the community there. Wellsford board member Colin Smith did not take part in the blessing ceremony in protest at the presence of Ngati Manuhiri Settlement Trust members.

Board chair Brent Bailey said it was great to finally have a place in Rodney for the Rodney Board to meet, as had been recommended by the Local Government Commission in 2018, and thanked all those who had made it happen, including the staff who had moved to work there.

Cr Greg Sayers said it was important to have a presence in Warkworth, as well as in southern Rodney, at Huapai.

“It all goes back to the community and how do we engage more closely with the community,” he said. Board members agreed, saying it was much easier and cheaper for local individuals and community groups to go to a meeting in Warkworth than Orewa, where board meetings were usually held.

Ivan Wagstaff said the opening was particularly timely in the wake of recent weather events.

“After the last couple of weeks, it’s really important that people feel like Council has their back and having somewhere local goes a long way towards that,” he said. “We may not be able to respond or provide equipment or support the community (ourselves), but listening to the community and being here for them is really important.”

The new offices will be open for local board business meetings and can be used to meet with board members by appointment – email rodneylocalboard@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or call 09 301 0101. Council services will continue to be provided at the Warkworth Service Centre in Baxter Street.

Council said the office refit cost $1.5 million and was funded from the sale of under-utilised legacy office space, such as the Orewa Council buildings, at no cost to ratepayers.