March 23, 2015
Ngati Whatua unhappy with wharf rush
Auckland hapu Ngati Whatua o Orakei wants Auckland Council and Ports of Auckland to study alternatives to planned massive extensions to Bledisloe Wharf.
About 2000 people gathered on the waterfront yesterday to protest the way the council allowed the port company to slip through a non-notified consent for the work, which could eventually dump half a million tonnes of spoil into the harbour.
Ngati Whatua o Orakei deputy chair Ngarimu Blair says the trust board has raised concerns through the unitary plan process about the way the contents were issued.
It also asked for studies on how port traffic should be spread across the upper North Island, and on the environmental, social and economic impact of the Ports of Auckland plan, which will double container capacity.
"Most Aucklanders already know how difficult it is driving around Quay Street, Beach Road, State Highway 16 through Grafton Gully and trying to get on to the Southern Motorway or the Western Motorway with walls and walls of trucks with containers on them. So picture that doubling in 30 years and those questions have not been answered yet in terms of how to manage port traffic. It's already at capacity," he says.
Ngarimu Blair says Ports of Auckland’s relationship with Ngati Whatua is amiable but superficial, and the hapu’s loss of its foreshore and seabed has still not been properly acknowledged.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH NGARIMU BLAIR CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=Mjc0NDY=
Copyright © 2015, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com