Ngāti Rēhia trustee Nora Rameka says the last thing Waipapa needs is another liquor store, currently under construction next to a BP service station. Photo / Peter de Graaf
A Bay of Islands hapū is up in arms over plans for a new liquor store in an area that already has four alcohol outlets.
Nora Rameka, a trustee of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia, said she was concerned the store's location next to a Waipapa petrol station, and potential drive-through service, would make alcohol even more accessible to vulnerable people.
She worried the combination of petrol and alcohol sales on one site could also hinder efforts to combat drink-driving.
The proposed Waipapa Liquor Store was being built on what used to be a gravel parking area next to BP Waipapa on State Highway 10.
Rameka said Māori were already over-represented in drug and alcohol statistics, drink-driving and jail, and many struggled to pay for petrol with current high prices.
''We know Waipapa is growing and there's a future for all kinds of retail — but we don't need another liquor outlet. Why would you do such a thing? Why would you want to keep breaking up families?''
The hapū was also upset it had been kept in the dark over something which could affect Māori.
Ngāti Rēhia had been involved for the past two years with plans for a car wash on the same site. The hapū had been consulted and had prepared a Cultural Impact Assessment.
However, she had only just found out the building going up next to it was earmarked for a liquor outlet.
An ''absolutely angry'' Rameka said the hapū should have been told about the planned liquor store too.
''When you are consulting with Māori you need to be upfront,'' she said.
Auckland-based Fresh Beer Ltd applied for a liquor sales licence for the Waipapa site earlier this month. Public submissions are open until April 1.
If approved the store will be able to sell liquor from 7am to 10pm seven days a week, according to a council public notice.
Far North District Council district services manager Dean Myburgh said he appreciated and understood Ngāti Rēhia's concerns.
''They say they do not want another liquor outlet in the area because of concerns it will have a negative impact on the hapū of Ngāti Rēhia and the community in general ... These are valid concerns and we have provided Nora and the rūnanga with information on how to formally object to the application.''
Decisions about liquor licences were made by the District Licensing Committee with input from police, the district health board and a licensing inspector.
The committee would also decide whether Ngāti Rēhia's views should carry more weight than those of other submitters, which was possible under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.
The application would be allowed to run its course to ensure it was treated impartially and the final decision was fair and reasonable, Myburgh said.
If building the store had required a resource consent then the hapū would have been notified, as per the Hapū Management Plan agreed between the council and Ngāti Rēhia.
Retail was, however, a permitted activity in Waipapa under the District Plan so resource consent wasn't needed, Myburgh said.
The car wash was dealt with under different legislation. Ngāti Rēhia was notified in case the hapū was concerned about noise, traffic, wastewater or other issues, Myburgh said.
The Hapū Management Plan did not cover liquor licences so the hapū was not notified about the application.
Rameka called on the council to "sit down with hapū groups and develop an alcohol policy that involves Māori".
According to the Companies Office, Fresh Beer Ltd is owned by Water Hops Yeast Ltd, which is in turn owned by Hamish Firth of Auckland.
Firth didn't want to comment, referring inquiries to the landowner instead.
BP New Zealand said it did not own the land, and only leased the area used by the service station and the future car wash.
Waipapa is a commercial hub, and increasingly a residential area, 6km from Kerikeri on State Highway 10. The area currently has one on-licence (the Pioneer Tavern) and three off-licences (two liquor stores and a Four Square).
Ngāti Rēhia's Cultural Impact Assessment for the new car wash called for, among other things, a three-step treatment system for wastewater.
The treated wastewater would be piped to the new roundabout to water plants instead of being discharged to the Whiriwhiritoa Stream, which was already severely degraded and waimate (devoid of life/spirit).
The Waitangi Tribunal is currently hearing a claim that successive governments have failed to protect Māori from the harm caused by alcohol.
Lead claimant Rāwiri Ratū said a law change was needed to ensure Māori were notified any time a liquor licence application was made.
The focus of his claim, WAI 2624, was the failings of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 and the subsequent prejudice suffered by Māori.
Information from the Ministry of Health showed more than 30,000 liquor licence applications were made in 2018-2021 but only 87 consulted Māori.
There was no requirement in the Act to include Māori on the list of those who received a copy of a liquor licence application.
''Te Tiriti guarantees Māori the right to participate in all matters that directly concern them, including their health and wellbeing ... You do not have to look far to see the stranglehold waipiro (alcohol) has on many Māori.''
Hearings started last week.
Ratū heads an Auckland-based trust which aims to prevent harm and the disproportionate impact of waipiro on Māori.