Muriwai Beach vehicle ban would save lives and the environment - editorial

EDITORIAL

Auckland Council should ban all vehicles from Muriwai following another senseless death of a young woman after being thrown from a ute driving on the West Coast beach.

The death last week is one too many. It was also avoidable had a blanket ban recommendation been adopted in 2021 when the parks committee of the Auckland Council discussed this very issue.

While police have yet to release details of the most recent incident, it follows a 2015 tragedy in which four men in their late 20s were killed when their 4WD vehicle rolled on the beach. The recent death has reignited the call to ban vehicles from the beach once and for all.

The former Auckland Regional Council (ARC) had been considering a blanket ban before the amalgamation of Auckland’s eight separate councils into one in 2010.

The Super City amalgamation curtailed ARC’s plan, as there were other more pressing priorities.

Fast forward to the September 2021 parks, arts, community and events committee and the final item on the agenda: Future management of motorised vehicles driving on Muriwai Beach.

Local residents - who admitted driving on Muriwai beach themselves - complained of hoon behaviour and said vehicles were bad for the environment, citing the trashing of sand dunes, crushing shellfish beds and potentially killing shorebirds that nest on the beach or dunes.

Locals also claimed some drivers were using the beach like a highway, minus the police patrols or safety barriers.

Council officers, after consultation with the residents, 4WD clubs and an environmental group, went to the parks committee with four options, including seasonal closures (option 2), controlled access (option 3) or closed access (option 4).

The Joint Agency Muriwai Management Group, made up of Police, Auckland Transport, Department of Conservation, Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Ngahere Ltd, Hancock Forestry, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Surf Life Saving Northern Region and Muriwai Volunteer Lifeguard Service, recommended option 3. They argued that it would enable other users to enjoy an area previously dominated by vehicles and would improve visitor safety by limiting the number of vehicles on the beach, The main negative was seen as administrative costs.

It was probably the right decision to make at that time, but the death last week of another young person should signal it’s time for a change. And the rethink should not end here - other beaches, such as Karioitahi Beach near Waiuku, face the same problem and the same risk of a fatal outcome if we don’t act soon.