“Government Ministers and Auckland Council continue to show a complete disregard for the law and their obligations to Mana whenua” says Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua Chair, Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish. On 26 March 2020, Auckland Council notified applications for a Plan Change and Resource Consent for the proposed Dome Valley landfill (also known as 1232 State Highway 1, Wayby Valley).

“The Crown, in particular Auckland Council cannot be allowed to embark into dirty deals, through operating under stealth and under the guise of COVID 19 – it is an insult to our intelligence as Iwi Partners. The immediate area is important to us, our whakapapa is woven into the whenua, and the waters that flow from the several tributaries and puna to the Hoteo and Kaipara Moana. Our traditional food basket of Ngāti Whātua, currently faces its greatest environmental challenge to date with the prospect of millions of tonnes of Auckland’s waste that will end up polluting our waterways. We are asking why is it that antiquated methods are being proposed which are destructive for the environment, when there are proven, environmentally sound alternatives? Waste Management NZ, who are the applicants, can give no guarantees that toxic leachate and other pollutants will not find their way into the Kaipara Moana,” says Dame Naida.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua Chief Executive, Alan Riwaka says, “the Iwi oppose this application as we wish to focus on applying our responsibilities as Kaitiaki. We will continue to work in partnership with our local community and research waste solutions that will have less impact on our environment. We have initiated discussions with providers who provide alternative options such as marae based waste and education services (Para Kore Trust) and waste to energy technologies”.

Dame Naida concludes, "It is imperative that Iwi, Hapū, Marae and community stand together as one, not only as a voice for Papatūānuku but also to maintain our rights as Treaty Partners. The Crown is using under-handed tactics to speed up resource consent processes without the correct checks and balances. This hasty approach by Local Government will be an issue that will rear its ugly head impacting all Iwi across the motu. What we see happening in our rohe, we believe is a matter of concern for all Iwi".

Ngāti Whātua ask for national support for this issue and are seeking tautoko/support from all Uri, whānau, hapū, marae and tribal partners to sign our national Action station petition https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/protect-our-kaipara-moana and put forward a submission which closes 11.59pm Tuesday 26th May.

To make a submission and to learn more about the Iwi campaign visit https://www.ngatiwhatua.iwi.nz/dome-valley.

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