Opinion: The power of people protest pays off in battle over Tegel chicken farm near Dargaville

Protesters, showing their opposition to Tegel Food's proposed broiler chicken farm, march through Dargaville. Photo / Michael Cunningham

I'm stoked for the small Northland community near Dargaville which chalked up a big win this week.

No big smelly Tegel chicken farm on their land up there.

Not just any chicken farm either, it was billed as going to be the biggest chicken farm the country would have ever seen.

There would have been nine million chickens a year, filling 32 sheds, across 253ha in rural Northland.

Mass opposition and loud protests from the local community made sure their views were heard.

Locals took up this fight at the start of the year and it's been a huge weight on their shoulders for months.

Among their concerns were odour, pollution, flooding risks, not to mention the build being on sensitive land close to a marae.

Many said they'd be unsuccessful in their protest ... that it'd be impossible to stand in the way of big business and win.

But they have. No Tegel chicken farm for Northland, the Overseas Investment Office has scrapped it.

Tegel's obviously disappointed, it cites all the jobs it would've created in a region no one can argue doesn't need jobs.

But locals argued the 30-odd jobs on offer didn't outweigh the health risks to their people.

A spokesperson said the stench from the place would have compromised air quality and the pollution would've negatively impacted people's lung capacity.

Locals argued it'd be better to boost smaller scale farmers, instead of backing foreign owned companies like Tegel.

But Kaipara locals are at odds with their own mayor ... who says that jobs on the farm would've provided valuable employment, and that saying no to Tegel sends a signal that Northland is closed for business.

He's concerned the government is actively discouraging investment in the district. He's worried about the 6 per cent unemployment rate. Those are all valid concerns.

So whose right and whose wrong?

Well the tricky thing here is always the fine print.

While Tegel was touting jobs for locals and environmental care, there's no guarantee this would've materialised.

It's possible the amount of upset locally, would've proved too problematic to make it viable anyway.

What this whole experience does exemplify is the power of the people, the power of protest.

The locals took this fight seriously and opposed it with vehemence, and this week that translated into a win for them.

* Laura Cunningham is early edition producer for Newstalk ZB