Protest signs sprouted across Rāwene this week opposing the Far North District Council's plans to continue discharging wastewater into the Hokianga Harbour.
Protest signs sprouted across Rāwene this week opposing the Far North District Council's plans to continue discharging wastewater into the Hokianga Harbour.
A boisterous and passionate crowd of about 200 people gathered at Rāwene yesterday to oppose the continued discharge of wastewater into the Hokianga Harbour.
A large banner across the road from the Rāwene Town Hall carried the message: “Honour Te Tiriti: No more teko in the wai.”
It was the beginning of a week-long hearing into the Far North District Council’s application to continue its historical use of the harbour to get rid of human waste from treatment plants at Ōpononi-Ōmāpere, Rāwene and Kohukohu.
To do so, the council needs resource consents from the Northland Regional Council, which is responsible for managing air, land, freshwater and coastal resources in the area.
Among those gathered were many organised by Te Mauri o Te Wai, the community liaison group that has been prominent in challenging Far North council’s wastewater discharge.
The group was formed from representatives of the hapū of Ngāti Hau, Ngati Kaharau, Te Hikutu and Te Mahurehure, along with Rāwene residents and others objecting to the use of the harbour.
Te Mauri o Te Wai spokesman Dallas King said the treatment stations were sometimes overwhelmed and untreated waste entered the harbour.
“Some things are untenable. Discharging wastewater into the Hokianga Harbour knowing that the plant is dysfunctional whenever it rains or is too hot is untenable. We will not compromise when it comes to wai.”
Another protest sign in Rāwene opposes plans to continue discharging wastewater into the Hokianga Harbour.
King said improvements pledged by the Far North District Council did not deal with the fundamental problem of the harbour as the recipient of the treatment plants.
Rather, she said the promised change was “a brazen attempt to legalise the continued degradation of Hokianga waters with human waste”.
“He taonga te wai o Hokianga. The waters of Hokianga are sacred. When you understand that, you understand why we will not compromise on our stance in this.”
The council’s resource consent includes a promise to investigate land discharge sites that would meet the satisfaction of hapū around Hokianga.
The council’s evidence this week was expected to include modelling showing what happened to contaminants discharged into the Hokianga Harbour, a public health risks assessment to understand any impact on health and a report into the adverse effects on cultural values.
