by Denise Roche
I feel very fortunate to live on Waiheke Island. It’s just 35 minutes by fast ferry from downtown Auckland and its permanent population of around 8000 people are friendly and are frequently spurred to action over environmental or social injustices. It’s where I cut my political teeth – because this is a community that takes its politics seriously. (Check out this link for political commentary or for completely unfettered flavour the Waiheke Island People’s Parliament is an open facebook group.)
So it was inevitable really that some of our residents were going to take action when a local land-owner – who has consistently breached his non-notified resource consent by building bigger and bigger structures on his private land to the point where he is about to deliver his waste water over the 40 metre coastal protection zone and the council beach reserve (which is also a sensitive archaeological site) – got Local Board permission to bring his prefabricated boat-house and visitor accommodation facility by barge to the bay and get a really big truck to tow them across the reserve and archaeological site and into place.
I joined the 50 or so protesters on Monday morning in an attempt to blockade the barge. I did so because this is yet another example of the council issuing inappropriate and non-notified resource consents. The land owner in this case originally had resource consent for a much smaller structure – a barbecue and a shed. That wasn’t a problem. What was a problem was that as the owner built larger and larger buildings on the sensitive site the council granted them retrospective consent each time. For this latest incursion the owner’s planning consultant has once more applied for a retrospective consent.
None of these consents have been notified so the scale of the current building wasn’t discovered until the neighbours saw the diggers and the builders working on the retaining walls and foundations.
This isn’t a new problem on Waiheke – or in fact in Auckland – since the advent of the ‘Super-City.” Waiheke’s local councillor Mike Lee makes the point that the rights of community seem to be continually over-ridden by the individual rights of the property-owner. And certainly the community’s ability to take action against property owners under the Resource Management Act have been seriously reduced since the National government started undermining the Act during their last term.
It was disturbing to have been read a trespass notice and told to get off a public reserve on Monday. And it was even more disturbing to see our local police (who are generally pretty amiable folks I have to say) assisted by un-warranted private security guards manhandle seven protesters out of the water where they operated a type of ‘catch and release’ exercise as none were charged, they were removed from the site.
Ironically Monday was the start of Auckland Council’s Heritage Week. I applaud the efforts of my fellow islanders to protect the heritage at Wharetana Bay for all people in New Zealand.
Published in Environment & Resource Management by Denise Roche on Thu, October 4th, 2012
Tags: Resource Management Act, Waiheke Island
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on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
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Issuing consents retrospecitivly always leaves the process open to be gamed by the likes of Mr Holyoke. It seems to be individuals with similar concepts of privilage that appear in the media applying for retrospective consents. Time councils started slamming some of these people with the full legal means at thier disposal to remind them that an individuals property rights do not supercead those of the community as a whole.
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Non-notification by local govt is now being taken to extremes. I heard of a case recently where a quarry was set up along the coast road near Punakaiki and the first residents knew of it was when the diggers rolled off the transporters and the dynamite was booming. The residents got the quarry closed. Hurrah for them!! Non-notification is becoming a national pandemic, with dire consequences for the natural environment.
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I feel very fortunate to live on Waiheke Island. It’s just 35 minutes by fast ferry from downtown Auckland and its permanent population of around 8000 people are friendly and are frequently spurred to action over environmental or social injustices.
And people here were telling me the Greens aren’t wealthy.
I don’t think an individual could get more detached from issues of social justice living on an exclusive island paradise safely away from the ‘poor’.
The Greens are out of touch.
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I understand, from his CV on the party website, that Gareth Hughes also lives there. He used to live in Wellington but since he became an MP and got on the gravy train he can no doubt afford Waiheke. It helps buld up the frequent flier miles as well.
Are there any more of your MPs who live there?
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alwyn, and some people lived on Waiheke before the ferry and the rise in property values.
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And Shunda, your assessment of Waiheke is a bit off. Property values have certainly skyrocketed in the 16 years I’ve lived there but a lot of that’s to do with mega million developments occurring for holiday homes around the coastal protection area. It makes it really difficult for those on fixed incomes. People still have to live and work there. Me, I used to work in rubbish and recycling on Waiheke. Some would say a perfect entre into the world of politics.
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Great work Denise – Waiheke is lucky to have an elected representative who is prepared to stand side by side with community members in protecting what is so unique and beautiful about this island.
Not certain I get the reference from Shunda about Waiheke being an “exclusive island paradise” located “away from the poor”. The vast majority of protesters on Monday were average working folk (the median income on Waiheke is about $25,000 per annum) seeking to protect the island from “faux Waihekians” – those who pay millions to create their weekender McMansions in the water’s edge, flying in for champagne filled weekends in their private helicopters and who wouldn’t be seen dead catching the ferry ($28,50 for a daily return trip to Auckland where most of the population have to go to find work.). Despite occupying a seat in Parliament, Denise remains a true Waihekian – catching the ferry to Auckland and the bus from the ferry to her bog standard Waiheke house which is NOT located on some private enclave in a pristine bay.
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That information is not correct – very incorrect. Please re-check publicly available files on the issue and alter that paragraph. Truth is important.
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alwyn, and some people lived on Waiheke before the ferry and the rise in property values.
uh huh…
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before you declare your ignorant prejudices.
No SPC, she actually lives on Waiheke island, I’m not making it up…
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You clearly were ignorant of the history of Waiheke Island as well as the past career of Denise Roche.
Now you only claim that she (still) lives there.
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Shunda- I meet a lot of people on Waiheke and the vast majority are poor.. me included . New Zealand is a paradise. and Denise is a good person that genuinely cares about the land and it’s people. who are you to be throwing spears ? and where do you live?
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Shunda, I suggest you do some reading about the demographics of Waiheke Island.
http://stateofauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/demographic-report-card/waiheke-local-board/
is probably a good starting point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiheke_Island gives a general overview.
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Denise R @ 5.48pm.
I have re-read Gareth’s profile on the party website and I may have confused the chronology. I read it as he has recently moved to Waiheke but it may really be that he lived there a decade or so ago.
In that case I withdraw my comments about him moving from Wellington.
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It is untrue that a series of retrospective consents were granted to this development. One consent only. It is as clear at that. All publicly available for anyone to confirm. It is imperative that MP’s write accurate statements. Please alter your statement. Thank-you.
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Waiheke Island has been taken over by faux-hippies unfortunately.
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