The conflict centres on a sandmining proposal in Bream Bay, pictured. Photo / NZME
Tensions between a Whangārei hapū and an affiliated trust entity have escalated, with the hapū accusing the trust of selling out to sand mining company McCallum Brothers (MBL).
The conflict between Te Parawhau hapū and Te Pouwhenua o Tiakiriri Kukupa Trust centres on the Auckland-based company’s proposal to extract nearly 8.5 million cubic metres of sand over the next 35 years from the seabed off Te Ākau Bream Bay under the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill.
The legislation bypasses public consultation but requires input from relevant Māori groups, including landowners in the project area.
Te Pouwhenua o Tiakiriri Kukupa Trust shares whakapapa and historical ties with Te Parawhau hapū, and operates within its rohe, engaging in environmental and resource management matters.
The trust is formally recognised by agencies such as Northland Regional Council as a consultation body, though that recognition does not equate to full hapū endorsement.
Dr Mere Kepa, a member of Te Parawhau hapū, said it had not been adequately consulted and its opposition to the project has not been represented by the trust.
Kepa claimed the trust had been engaged in closed-door discussions with MBL and had considered financial incentives to build a facility on the Otaika River in exchange for its support.
“There’s been limited consultation and transparency with the wider hapū about the trust’s engagement with McCallum Brothers,” Kepa said.
MBL chief operating officer Shayne Elstob disputes the claim.
He said the company had consulted with Te Parawhau hapū for more than 18 months, including hui where all hapū members were invited to ask questions and hear from experts.
“It is completely erroneous for some Te Parawhau hapū to claim a deal has been struck between the two parties and unfairly paints both McCallum Bros Ltd and the trustees [of Te Pouwhenua o Tiakiriri Kukupa Trust] in a bad light.
“It undermines a huge amount of work undertaken by both parties and the good faith with which the consultation has been undertaken,” Elstob said.
Kepa maintained the consultation was limited to emails via the trust.
Te Pouwhenua o Tiakiriri Kukupa trustee Marina Fletcher said her fellow trustees were aware she was opposed - on behalf of Te Parawhau hapū - to the sandmining proposal.
She was unaware of any agreement between the trust and MBL, nor of any financial figures being discussed.
“Those take [issues] have not been raised at Pouwhenua monthly meetings,” Fletcher said.
She acknowledged two hui attended by representatives of all Te Parawhau Marae revealed a split in the hapū, “mainly created by insufficient awareness of the kaupapa”, she said.
A further hui was organised with MBL report writers presenting.
The issue is another example of discontent with the trust by the hapū. In 2023, Kepa and others revived the Takahiwai Māori Committee, after decades of dormancy, positioning it as a grassroots alternative to the trust.
The committee developed its own environmental resource management plan prioritising conservation, climate adaptation, and cultural protection – values Kepa said many hapū members felt were being compromised by the trust’s corporate dealings.
Kepa claimed the sandmining proposal would have no economic benefit to Te Parawhau hapū, with the projected gross domestic product flowing outside Northland.
“Te Parawhau hapū needs leadership that ensures the discussions with MBL respect whakapapa and safeguard the future of the hapū.”
She also disputed claims of a concrete shortage in Auckland, citing research in which she is involved.
Kepa’s loss of confidence in the trust’s representation of Te Parawhau hapū on the Fast-track panel has seen her throw her support behind other opponents, the Bream Bay Guardian Society (BBGS), a trust formed to oppose the Fast-track proposal and Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board.
Earlier this year, MBL officially withdrew its application to mine sand at Pakiri after decades of public pressure, environmental concerns, and legal challenges.
The company’s new Bream Bay focus is a site 5km offshore from Waipū, Langs, Uretiti, and Ruakākā beaches.
Objectors fear the project could impact highly endangered birds, strip sand from beaches, and impact fishing.
Trust chairman Pari Walker could not be contacted but was privy to MBL’s response to the Northern Advocate’s questions.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.