KEY POINTS:
Protesters are settling in for what could be a long stay at the proposed Whangamata marina but the developer says the project will begin within a month.
Work on the $20 million, 205-berth marina in the Moanaanuanu Estuary was supposed to have started on Tuesday but a request
from the Whangamata Marina Society to change its leasing arrangements with the Thames Coromandel District Council has stalled the development.
The marina society wants to reduce the council-owned land it is leasing to a 550sq m lot, down from its original proposal of 1.3ha.
But the council has deferred its decision on this for an extraordinary meeting of council which could be a few weeks away.
Meanwhile, a low-key cross-section of about 30 hapu members, surfers, boaties and other locals from the Whangamata community yesterday flew flags and banners as they continued their 15-year opposition to the proposed marina at the site on Hetherington Rd.
Some sang songs around a makeshift campfire while others secured their tents as passers-by either tooted their support or told those there to "go home and get a job".
A spokesman for three local hapu, Nathan Kennedy of Ngati Whanaunga, said the groups came together to vent their frustration with the marina proposal after the recent discovery of a small native lizard, which they say is a kaitiaki (guardian), in the estuary's saltmarsh and changes to the marina's lease agreements.
There are also concerns dredging the marina could irreversibly damage the estuary's pipi and cockle beds.
Mr Kennedy said other iwi throughout the country had been informed of their actions and more supporters could yet arrive. He said the debate had split the community but the media were mischievous in making the issue a Maori one.
"It's a bit of a myth some had tried to create in demonising Maori as holding up the process," he said.
The president of the Surfbreak Protection Society, Paul Shanks, is concerned dredging in the estuary could lead to 160,000cu m of sand being moved to begin the development.
He said this would be followed by an annual dredging of several thousand cubic metres of sand which could possibly have a detrimental effect on Whangamata's D-bar, a famous break with surfers throughout the country.
"The potential is devastating ... the break is a New Zealand icon," Mr Shanks said.
But Whangamata Marina Society president Mick Kelly told the Herald work was scheduled to go ahead in a month.
Mr Kelly acknowledged the groups' views against the marina but said the environmental concerns were thoroughly tested in the Environment Court. He said all of the marina's 205 berths were "spoken for", and there was a waiting list.
WHANGAMATAMARINA
Cost: $20 million.
Berths: 205.
What's happening?
* Work was supposed to have started on Tuesday but the developers are seeking a decision from the Thames Coromandel District Council relating to the lease of the land on Hetherington Rd.
* Protesters including Maori, surfers, boaties and people in the local community have set up camp at the site to vent their frustration.
* Some are concerned about the environmental impact on pipi and cockle beds and the possible detrimental effect on the local surf break.
* The president of the Whangamata Marina Society, Mick Kelly, expects work to begin within a month.
