September 16, 2021
Short respite in battle to protect Hōteo awa
Ngāti Whātua chair Rangimarie Dame Naida Glavish says the failure by the promoters of a massive landfill at Dome Valley to get a plan change is a small respite in a big battle.
Last week’s decision by Auckland Council-appointed commissioners means an extension to the existing plan can’t go ahead.
But Waste Management still has resource consents for the project, which Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua and others are challenging in the Environment Court.
Dame Naida says it’s wrong plan, wrong place.
“It would seep into the Hōteo (River) and the Hōteo is a food table which runs out to the Kaipara. From the Kaipara it would run out to the Tasman Sea. That’s how short sighted they are to even put it there,” she says.
Dame Naida says the fight against the dump has brought together Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngātiwai and others concerned about the environmental and social consequences.