BREAKING NEWS: AUCKLAND COUNCIL REFUSES SAND MINING CONSENTS

May 9 2022

The communities of Mangawhai and Pakiri can take a bow, along with sleeping a little easier, with Auckland Council announcing the resource consent for far shore sand mining by McCallum Brothers has been REFUSED!

To many, this is seen as winning the unwinnable.

This application for far shore sand mining, allowing sand extraction at a depth of 25 metres, was always regarded as the most difficult to oppose of the three consents currently being applied for, the Save Our Sands (SOS) group, took up the daunting challenge to target this consent application, knowing that in the event of it being successful, it will have an overriding impact on the remaining mid shore and near shore applications.

The commissioners who recommended the consent refusal, did so for the following reasons:

· Adverse effects on Maori cultural values, which include the biodiversity, coastal ecology and coastal processes of the area.

· The need for precautionary practices. These covered concerns over lack of consideration on the effects of global warming, the threat to endangered bird and marine life, the economic impact on the communities, and the cumulative impact if all three applications were granted.

These strong reasonings will carry great importance when the commissioner hearings for the next two applications are heard in late July/ August.

Our community can take great pride in its coming together to oppose and win such a momentous decision that had the potential to change dramatically everything that our Magical Mangawhai means to us.