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www. soulstopsha.org SOULTimes November 2015 2 Contested space: Ihumätao Ihumātao is known and respected as the longest continuously occupied papakainga (village) in the Auckland region. People have lived and worked at Ihumātao for over 1000 years. Carbon dating of an archaeological site on nearby Puketūtu Island dates human settlement by the people of Ihumātao in the range of 1160 A.D. or the 12th century. Here is a short history of the on-going land issues and disputes at Ihumātao in the last 180 years. 1836 Reverend William Fairburn claims to have purchased from Māori all the land from Ōtāhuhu to Papakura (83,000 acres), the entire area of South and East Auckland. 1840-1850 Ongoing dispute over the Fairburn purchase. 1863 Land confiscated as punishment for supporting the Kingitanga Movement. Internationally owned land commissioners use legal loopholes to confiscate all Māori owned land in Māngere and on sell to British settlers. 1960-2000 Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant makes large area of the Māngere foreshore off limits to the public and seriously pollutes the air, water and sea bed. Historic volcanoes quarried for airport construction and Auckland’s roading network. Oxidation ponds are eventually decommissioned and the Ihumātao foreshore SPILLAGE: Industrial dye destroyed the local awa. SIMPLER TIMES: A late 19th century scow on the Ōruarangi awa. restored however there is no restoration of the Ōruarangi awa. 2009 Auckland Airport’s second runway construction bulldozes through a 600 year old urupa (grave site) on the Manukau Harbour foreshore unearthing 89 graves. 2012 Watercare announces plans to divert huge volumes of sewerage and stormwater from Central Auckland to the Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant. There is ongoing community opposition to this plan on environmental grounds. Te Motu a Hiaroa/Puketūtu Island is designated as a bio-solids dumping ground. 2012 The Environment Court orders Auckland Council to re-zone all Rural land west of the Auckland Airport to Future Urban. This effectively destroys the unique heritage value of this area and ends Council and community plans for the Māngere Gateway Heritage project. 2013 Industrial dye spill completely devastates Waitomokia stream and Ōruarangi awa. One of Auckland’s worst pollution incidents. 2015 Fletcher Residential Limited seeks approval to build a 480 high-density housing development on the last remnant of rural land in Māngere in the Ihumātao area, the site of an ancient pa situated on the slopes of two volcanoes, Ōtuataua and Te Puketāpapatanga a Hape/Pukeiti. The people of Ihumātao today are the kaitiaki (guardians) of the environment and we have a responsibility to our ancestors and future generations to protect our sacred lands, including that of the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve, the lava caves that were used in the burial of our ancestors, Ōruarangi Creek, the Manukau Harbour and the wider Ihumātao Peninsula. Waitangi Tribunal called on to act The founding members of SOUL are working with local lawyer Cameron Hockly of Bennion Law on an urgent application to the Waitangi Tribunal to consider that the Special Housing Areas Act breaches hapū over their customary land or other tāonga, full discussion must take place with Māori . The Special Housing Areas Act precludes participation by Māori in the consenting process on the basis that land within the SHA and surrounding it contains a great many tāonga, including historic sites of occupation, wāhi tapu and burial sites. The SHA will have a hugely detrimental impact on those tāonga if allowed to proceed. land. Kaitiakitanga means guardianship or stewardship. The limited rights to make a submission or be heard regarding developments on SHAs fail to recognise the katiaki role of the mana Manukau Harbour was heard at Makaurau Marae in 1985. The Tribunal commented, “We are frankly appalled by the events of the past and by the effect they have had on the Manukau tribes.” the Treaty of Waitangi for development of a SHA will 3. The Act undermines the whenua in relation to the Yet many of the the following reasons: impact on their traditional ability of the residents of land at Ihumātao. recommendations of the 1. The Act has been passed customary land. Ihumātao to exercise their The historic Waitangi Tribunal are still to be without consultation with 2. The Act does not katiaki role in relation to the Tribunal report on the implemented. Māori. An overarching principle of the Treaty of Waitangi is recognition that the Treaty created a partnership between the Crown and Māori. That partnership rests on the premise that both partners will act reasonably and in utmost good faith towards each other. The Tribunal has held that before the Crown makes decisions on matters provide any mechanism for the protection of tāonga associated with the land at 545 Ōruarangi Road. Article 2 of the Treaty guarantees Māori protection of all of their lands, villages and tāonga or treasures. The SHA Act, with its limited notification requirements, excludes Māori from participating in decisions relating to SHAs that will impact on their relationship that might impinge upon with their wāhi tapu, the relationship of a tribe or and other treasures. The CHALLENGE: Members of SOUL perform a haka during an Auckland council meeting
www. soulstopsha.org SOUL Times November 2015 3 THERE IS ANOTHER WAY ALTERNATIVE SITE OFFERS WIN-WIN OPTION FOR ALL A Viable Alternative to SHA 62 Don’t let the bureaucrats make you think Ihumātao is the only place for a Special Housing Area. The people of Auckland own 50 hectares of rural land on Ascot Rd and Greenwoods Rd in the Airport Oaks area of Māngere Central. This area of Auckland has the lowest per capita income and the greatest housing need. This is where we should be building homes for the benefit of the Māngere community, It is within walking distance of shops, schools, medical centres, multiple bus routes, cafes, restaurants, sports clubs and churches. On the otherhand, SHA 62 at Ōruarangi Rd has none of the infrastructure that this alternative option offers. The Ascot Road site is a very interesting piece of land with beautiful sea views out to Puketūtu Island and to Māngere Mountain. The land is a mixture of ‘light industrial’ and ‘special purpose’ zoning. The land was an odour buffer zone for the old oxidations ponds but is now being landscaped as we speak (100,000 trees have been planted this spring). One underlying issue is whether the land is still subject to requirements for odour protection. We asked that question of Auckland Council planners at the Fletcher Residential is 100 per cent owned by Fletcher Construction which is 56 per cent owned by foreign banks, JP Morgan, HSBC, CITIbank and National Bank of Australia. As a foreign owned company they are required to apply to the Overseas Investment Office to gain approval to purchase of New Zealand land. SOUL has investigated the application and approval process with information released under the Official Information Act. There are so many irregularities and omissions in the Fletcher application that the Overseas Investment Office “SHA 62 at Oruarangi Rd has none of the infrastructure that this alternative option offers” outset of researching this idea and they assured us there is no insurmountable issue that would prevent the land being used for residential purposes. This is such an ideal spot that Māngere ratepayers received an invitation from Watercare to visit the Waste Water Treatment Plant and coastal walkways to experience what they described as “Auckland’s best kept secret”. A land swap proposal has been tabled with Auckland Council and the Māngere- Ōtāhuhu Local Board. This could secure the future of the Ōtuataua Stonefields and the land in question. The alternative sees a better housing option to meet the various demands and, attempts to maximise the land’s potential yield ( both in dwellings and financial return). Fletcher Residential can still make money and avoid a costly prolonged battle with the community over the Ōruarangi Rd site. Māngere gets much needed housing in a location well served by existing infrastructure. The city benefits by providing alternative funding to Watercare and taking pressure off ratepayers. This is a viable alternative that just requires courageous city administrators. (OIO) has began a review of their decision based on information supplied by SOUL. The 80 acre farm was described by Fletcher as a “domestic residence and the grass was mowed regularly for silage to keep the place tidy”. If the land is not classified as a ‘farm’ the approval process is much easier and the property does not have to be advertised on the local market. After much argument the OIO eventually required the owner to advertise the land for sale. Fletcher’s lawyer, not the owner, advertised the land in the Manukau Courier and Trade Me as Map showing the planned location for SHA62 and the alternative site between Watercare and Airport Oaks (outlined in red) HI-VIS VISIT: Members of SOUL (left) meet with a representative of Watercare. OIO SALE UNDER REVIEW “Farmland in Māngere for sale, suitable for cropping”. It could be argued that this is a misrepresentation of an 80 acre Special Housing Area zoned Future Urban. The purchaser is required to list any waahi tapu or urupa that might be on the land in question. Fletcher failed to declare Auckland’s oldest and most documented urupa contained in the huge lava cave system on the farm. No mention was made of Mana Whenua, the neighbours in the 1000-year-old continuously occupied papakainga. Fletcher stated that the only heritage value of the land was as “the ancestral home of the Wallace Family”. No mention was made of the farm being confiscated from Māori of the papakainga in 1865 and granted at no cost to the Wallace Family in 1868. No mention was made of the defence, in 2012, by the Auckland Council and local Iwi, to the Environment Court enforced zone change. The Auckland Council was attempting to purchase the block to complete the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve. A review will be released within the coming weeks. Local Board on the SHA “We share the community’s concerns and maintain our objection to this SHA, as we have since it was first proposed. However we continue to support an outcome that includes the aspirations of SOUL and the Ihumātao Community.” Councillor Casey says no SHA: Motion: That the Governing Body of Auckland Council revokes part of Resolution number GB/2014/43 of 1 May 2014 in relation to Tranche 3 Special Housing Area at Ōruarangi Rd, Māngere. Voted on August 27, 2015 by Auckland Council. Motion lost 12-5
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