Pakiri seabed sand mining protestors voice their opposition as a McCallum Bros' sand mining ship moves by. (Credit: Local Democracy Reporting) Photo: Northern Advocate (Local Democracy Reporting)
In Aotearoa, a small community is celebrating a huge win against 80 years of sand mining on their coastline.
Pākiri beach is about 90-minute drive north from Auckland's city centre. It has been depleted of millions of tonnes of Holocene sand used for high-strength concrete by the McCallum Bros company.
The coastal settlement is one of the largest remnants of Māori land in the Auckland region, where less than 0.1 percent remains in Māori or customary title. Some local families have fought the removal of sand from their rōhe (area) for three generations.
Last month, McCallum reached an agreement with the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust to stop.
One environmental advocate said it's a heartening victory for the wider Pacific region.
Pākiri's sand has an ideal shape and mineral content that's used in concrete for Auckland's growing infrastructure needs.
Landmarks, like the Sky Tower and Auckland Harbour Bridge, have been built with it. It has also been used in construction of the City Rail Link and the Central Wastewater Interceptor, as well as new homes.
Five years ago, McCallum applied to Auckland Council for new mining consents.
Objections from locals and anti-sand mining advocates meant the applications went to the Environment Court. Until a few weeks ago, the case was also due to go to the High Court.
The settlement, signed on 22 August, puts an end to the legal action. It states extraction will stop, and the company will issue a written apology to Ngāti Manuhiri.
Trust chairman Terrence "Mook" Hohneck said it's been a lengthy and testing process.
"The Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust has a mandate from our people. We've held that mandate for the last 14 years, and that mandate is solely to protect who we are as a people, and our identity and our cultural footprint within our… tribal lands, and also to uphold the mana of our tupuna."
He believes McCallum finally understood that the Pākiri community and Ngāti Manuhiri were not giving up.
"I think they've weighed everything up and come to the viewpoint that: 'Hey, we're never going to win this one, and so we need to actually work alongside Ngāti Manuhiri and…how we could settle this in an amicable way for both of us.
"Obviously we're not negotiable on the extraction, so there was a given that they had to withdraw immediately."
As part of the settlement, the company has to pay $450,000 in costs, which Hohneck said will be used for the Trust's legal fees.
"[That amount] is very minuscule, if you like, of the true cost from a financial output or view. And also, you can't put a number on the mamae of our own people."
McCallum declined an interview but a statement on its website said going to the High court would have been too costly and potential taken years.
It also said it was focused on other opportunities, including its fast-track application for sand extraction at Bream Bay just north of Pākiri.
Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner Juressa Lee said the settlement at Pākiri, and halting of sand mining, was a "historic win".
"I think it shows that when mana whenua and communities stand up together, we can protect our coastlines and our ocean and our future."
She believed it also showed anti-mining advocates in Aotearoa and across the region - like those against deep sea mining in Cook Islands - that Indigenous values of kaitiakitanga or guardianship, and respect for the environment were more important than ever.
"This win is proof that people power works, and… Indigenous peoples and the local communities of the Cook Islands can find strength in that as we fight to stop seabed mining in the Cook Islands, in the South Taranaki Bight and in the wider Pacific region."
Ngāti Manuhiri's Terrence Hohneck had a similar message.
As part of the settlement, the trust secured a supply of "20 dozen half shell oysters" for their annual Christmas party from McCallum for the next five years. These should be "jumbo" size, according to the agreement.
Hohneck said while they'd be enjoyed, there was more work to do.
"We're certainly celebrating that moment, but we can't take our eyes off the ball. There's some more kaupapa tomorrow that we have to… look at and take up on behalf of our people and behalf of everyone."
