Iwi have flouted the Resource Management Act by building structures on the beach to prevent coastal erosion, says Whaingaroa Harbourcare manager Fred Lichtwark.
Posts have been dug 1.2m into the ground with box thorn woven between them in front of land owned by the Tainui hapu to slow erosion.
Land at the
mouth of the Whaingaroa harbour has eroded up to 30m in the past 40 years. Erosion has worsened in the past month as a result of king tides and is threatening one home, the Kokiri Centre, and the former surf-lifesaving clubhouse.
Mr Lichtwark said the barriers were dangerous because people could trip over the posts and skewer themselves. The hapu's environmental spokeswoman, Angeline Greensill, said the group was determined to protect its land.
Herald Feature: Environment
