Beach occupiers protesting Waiheke marina will leave — on hīkoi to Parliament

Thursday, 3 June 2021

Save Kennedy Point and Whānau of Piritahi Marae are campaigning to stop the construction of a marina at Kennedy Point on Waiheke Island.

After almost three months occupying the beach at Waiheke’s Kennedy Point, campaigners plan to move – on a hīkoi to Parliament.

They will deliver a petition asking Environment Minister David Parker to throw his weight behind their request to take the marina proposal back to the Environment Court.

The marina at Pūtiki Bay has been fought by Save Kennedy Point (SKP) at every step, but on Wednesday the campaigners reached an agreement with the developers to settle out of court.

Protestors in kayaks tried to prevent the developers reaching the rockwall where kororā nest.

That brings four years of court battles to an end, but it doesn’t change the beach occupiers’ resolution to see their own fight through.

* Supreme Court rejects last-ditch appeal by opponents to Waiheke marina

* The Detail: The controversy behind Waiheke Island's Kennedy Point marina

Occupiers have been at the beach at Kennedy Point for almost three months.

The petition, which has already been signed more than 8500 times, was started by Uri o Ngāti Pāoa (descendents of Ngāti Pāoa), who are occupying the beach under the umbrella group Protect Pūtiki.

It asks Auckland Council to instigate a review of the consent for the 181-berth marina so the case can be reheard in the Environment Court.

The developers have marked out a large section of the bay with black mussel buoys.

It calls on the Environment Minister and Conservation Minister to “mandate a process that will enable all affected parties to come up with an outcome everyone can live with”.

It also asks the Conservation Minister to amend the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act to prohibit any future marinas on Waiheke Island.

Protect Pūtiki spokeswoman Emily Māia Weiss credited the petition’s popularity with how it drew in broader issues: “a set of processes that often exclude robust consultation with mana whenua, […] the spreading of colonisation into public spaces like the moana, building on top of our ancestral connections”.

While one representative entity of Ngāti Pāoa, the Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust, was consulted by the developers, Weiss said many uri had not had their voices heard.

The Ngāti Pāoa Trust Board was not consulted, which the Māori Appellate Court and the Supreme Court found was a failure on the part of Auckland Council, which should have notified the board.

“It’s a breach of Te Tiriti. Article 2 states that we have the right to protect our moana and our taonga, and we’re not able to do this in this instance,” Weiss said.

Last week the developers were on-site marking out the construction zone and putting extra safety measures in place after one of their cranes was damaged.

A large section of the bay is now marked out with black mussel buoys, which encircle a barge holding a crane and containers and piles that have been driven into the seabed.

Weiss said while the activity at the bay was ostensibly not construction work, occupiers at the beach were still concerned it could have a detrimental effect on the little blue penguins.

The buoys were knocking up against the rock wall overnight, she said, and she questioned why the developer’s penguin expert was not on-site to assess the impact that would have on kororā.

People in kayaks put themselves between the buoys and the rockwall so the developers would move the mooring further out.

Kennedy Point Marina project manager Scott Fickling said the recent work did not involve any disturbance to the breakwater rocks where penguins may have burrows, which is why their penguin expert was not there during the work.

The buoys will not prevent access to burrows as kororā are able to swim beneath the buoys and get under the rocks, he said.

Protect Pūtiki has launched a GiveALittle page in tandem with the petition to fund the hīkoi to Parliament. That will cover costs, including bus and ferry fares.

The exact plans for the journey, including its start point, have not yet been decided. But Weiss said with the petition quickly gaining traction, they wanted to be ready to go as soon as possible.

They are also calling on Parker to come and visit them at the site.

In a written statement, a spokesman for Parker noted the previous court proceedings and said ministers only have the power to intervene at the start of consent proceedings.

“As the decision on the consent has been made by Auckland Council and there have been appeals through the courts the minister has no powers to intervene.

“The project is wholly within the coastal marine area and the Minister of Conservation would have made decisions on a call-in on applications like this. As noted above it is too late for a call-in.

“The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act is within the Minister of Conservation’s portfolio.”

Weiss said they had sought legal advice about who the petition was directed to and had also invited Minister of Conservation Ayesha Verrall to visit the site.