Former Minister for Regional Economic Development and NZ First MP Shane Jones alerted the Northland Age to the black Holden Captiva last week, which was stranded just after the bridge where the Kahoe River meets the Whangaroa Harbour near the Totara North exit off SH10.
Jones said he had noticed the car several times when passing over the bridge and had taken it upon himself to take a photo of the vehicle submerged in the river.
He said it was an ugly sight and malaise for Northland Regional Council as the authority of Northland's waterways.
"The car needs to be removed, it's an environmental wart in the Whangaroa Harbour environment and insult to the hapū of Whangaroa who have been trying really hard to upgrade the quality of the harbour environment," Jones said.
"The Department of Conservation and the council are trigger happy when it comes to penalising farmers, both oyster and dairy, so we need to see the same level of alacrity when it comes to removing this vehicle.
"The least our authorities can do is to rapidly extract this car wreck from the marine environment as the longer they allow for this type of behaviour to become normal, the longer they allow the water rats that caused this problem to operate with impunity."
Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa spokesperson Rāniera Kaio said the rūnanga had lodged a request for service with Northland Regional Council regarding the car about two weeks ago but had heard nothing back.
Kaio said he was very concerned the car could have been leaking substances into the river, which could have had a negative impact on their local food source.
"There is a high risk with this situation that oil has potentially run into the river which can leak into the harbour and impact the muscle beds, pipi, fish and oyster farms further along the harbour," Kaio said.
"NRC need to provide assistance and support in these situations because while we do have certain hapū members and locals ready and able to help, this is a safety and capability issue.
"The position of this particular vehicle wasn't an easy fix and required resources that hapū and iwi don't often have.
"It's great that we have community members offering support, but continuing to rely on the community to keep doing these things, without local government support, is unsustainable."
Kaio added in such cases, the priority should be to fix the problem, then deal with the logistics of who needs to remove the car later, especially when pertaining to an environmental issue.
According to the Northland Regional Council, when a vehicle is abandoned in a waterway, the initial responsibility lies with the person who put the car in the waterway and the insurer to have it removed.
Anything in the Coastal Marine Area was the responsibility of the Northland Regional Council and between the high tide and low tide mark was usually Far North District Council.
Finally, if a car was found on the side of state highways, then Waka Kotahi -NZTA was responsible. Then, if police were involved in an investigation, they would usually remove the vehicle.
NRC Group Manager Regulatory Services, Colin Dall said in this case, the council was advised of the vehicle in the tide via its Environmental Hotline on February 21 and staff visited the site the following day.
Staff then arranged for the vehicle's removal, which was carried out by NRC maritime staff.
"We rely on reports, then location and determination of who is responsible for removing it (the vehicle)," the Dall said.
"Usually the organisations involved keep a budget for removal of such items and any large vehicle will often have a pollution potential so early notification is important.
"If the vessel is submerged in a navigable waterway or channel then it may require to be marked to avoid vessels hitting it.
"People who wish to report environmental incidents can call the council's 24/7 Environmental Hotline (0800) 504 639."
In contrast to NRC's statement, Far North District Council said it was only responsible for removing abandoned vehicles from district roads.
FNDC Environmental Services manager Rochelle Deane said abandoned cars with licence plates and current registrations were stickered and owners were advised to remove them within seven days.
She said vehicles that were "obviously" abandoned were towed immediately.
"Vehicles must be kept for a minimum of 10 days and efforts made to find the owner before it is disposed of (reference Local Government Act 1974 section 356)," Deane said.
"The cost of removal is between $200 - $1000, although a car abandoned on 90 Mile beach will cost closer to $2000.
"The cost varies depending on location and wherever possible the council will sell any unclaimed vehicles to defray recovery costs."
When questioning New Zealand Police about the matter, it was their understanding Northland Regional Council was responsible for the removal of abandoned vehicles from roads.
A New Zealand Police spokesperson said if an abandoned vehicle was located off the road, or there was no road hazard posed, then the matter was for the regional council to deal with.
According to the spokesperson, police only intervened when there was a road hazard posed by the abandoned vehicle, whereby they would get the vehicle towed and make enquiries to locate and speak with the owner/driver of the vehicle.
The spokesperson said stolen vehicles were typically dealt with by police who would contact the owner once the vehicle was located.
"If the owner of the stolen vehicle has agreed for the vehicle to be towed once located, then Police will arrange for the vehicle to be towed," the spokesperson said.
"If the owner doesn't give authority to tow the vehicle - and if there is no road hazard - then the vehicle is left for the owner to sort out.
"Abandoned vehicles should be reported to the local council, while owners of stolen vehicles can report this to Police by phoning 105."
Waka Kotahi NZTA was approached for comment but did not respond in time for edition deadline.
According to Carjam.co.nz (an authorised provider of ownership records including names and addresses for Registered Motor Vehicle Traders (RMVT)) the car has been listed as stolen.
