Gary Taylor: Carve-up of Rodney would be a disaster

Auckland Regional Council Chairman Mike Lee has blown the whistle on a secret Government deal to carve up Rodney district as part of the proposal to establish the new Auckland council.

Government ministers are refusing to comment in the face of strong opposition from local government politicians, environmental groups and Federated Farmers. The proposal would see the northern part of Rodney district amalgamated with Kaipara district. This would include seven regional parks and hundreds of kilometres of coastline. It would also encompass the Mahurangi and Whangateau harbours and a large chunk of the Kaipara harbour.

Rodney district is one of the fastest growing areas in the country due to its proximity to Auckland and its stunning coastal and rural landscapes. There is enormous pressure to subdivide the coast for holiday and retirement homes and to cut up farms into lifestyle blocks.

Managing this pressure requires the oversight of a staunch and well-resourced authority. The ARC has kept a close eye on development proposals within Rodney and has been willing to go to court when necessary. It has also had the financial clout to purchase strategic areas of the coast for regional reserves. It is only through the concerted efforts of the ARC that special places such as Pakiri Beach remain largely undeveloped.

As documented in the Environmental Defence Society's book, Castles in the Sand, leaving the management of pressured coastline in the hands of impecunious councils is a recipe for disaster. Kaipara District Council is a small, rural-based entity and is not geared up to manage the kind of pressure we are seeing on the coastline.

This is highlighted by its recent failure to identify outstanding natural landscapes in its reviewed district plan, despite the legal obligation to do so, a move taken in response to strong lobbying by landowners and development interests.

One only has to look at what is happening in Kaipara district to see what would be in store under the Government's proposals. At Mangawhai, houses have been allowed to sprawl right along the coastline and well into the rural hinterland. There is a huge oversupply of sections which are lying vacant. Shrinking the boundaries of the Auckland council could see such coastal sprawl extending all the way down to Waiwera.

Northland Regional Council also struggles for resources. It does not have the financial clout to purchase expensive coastal land for regional parks. The council is poorly equipped to manage additional marine areas.

The royal commission on Auckland got it right when it recommended that the new Auckland council should control rural land north of the metropolitan urban limits to avoid development jumping the fence. The notion of putting some of our most valuable coastline in the hands of the most under-resourced and poorly performing council in the north is a recipe for disaster.

Let's hope that the Government sees reason before it is too late. Rodney district should not be split up and all of it should be included in the new Auckland council.

* Gary Taylor is the Chairman of the Environmental Defence Society www.eds.org.nz