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Foundation makes urgent call to stop sand mining

 

 

thumbnail Stu MuirThe Endangered Species Foundation (ESF) has added to urgent calls asking the Auckland Council to end sand mining at Pakiri and protect the critically endangered tara iti, New Zealand fairy tern.

The foundation is a registered charitable organisation supporting high-priority conservation projects that protect Aotearoa’s most vulnerable indigenous species and habitats from extinction – protecting the rarest of the rare.

“The tara iti lives at Pakiri and there are only 16 breeding pairs left in the world,” says Stu Muir, ESF chair. “This is New Zealand’s rarest endemic bird and its habitat is under grave threat.”

Hearings have recently been held by the Auckland Council to renew the resource consent for sand mining by Kaipara Limited, who want to take another 2 million cubic metres of sand from the beach over the next 20 years.

“We are calling on the Auckland Council to make the right decision and stop sand mining in this area,” says Stu. “The fate of the tara iti is closely linked to the fate of our beaches and all the species that depend on them.”

More than 650 public submissions have opposed the resource consent application from Kaipara Limited, while just four submissions (from Allied Concrete, Bridgeman Concrete, the Aggregate and Quarry Association of New Zealand and McCallum Bros) are in support.

Those who have opposed the application include hundreds of individuals, Te Whanau o Pakiri, Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust, the Department of Conservation, the Auckland Conservation Board, Tara Iti Golf Club, Forest & Bird, Save Te Arai, the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society, the Surfbreak Protection Society and KASM – Kiwis Against Seabed Mining.

“We believe the council needs to listen to the people and the 650 submissions against this application,” says Stu. “We also need to respect the views and position of Ngatiwai and Ngati Manuhiri as kaitiaki and mana whenua of this rohe, to protect our moana for all species and future generations.”

Unfortunately says Muir, the council’s decision will not be based on how many submissions support or oppose the application. Unless new evidence is presented at the resource consent hearing, Auckland Council's recommendation will be to approve Kaipara Limited's application, subject to some conditions.

 

Stu Muir, chair Endangered Species Foundation.


 
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