In cooperation with community group Save our Sands, Endangered Species Foundation today delivered two petitions, with a combined 14,000 signatures, to the Mayor and Councillors of Auckland Council. The petitions ask that Auckland Council stop sand mining the Pakiri and Mangawhai coastline.
Jessie Stanley of Save our Sands, along with Natalie Jessup from the Endangered Species Foundation and Eliot Pryor of Greenpeace, presented the petition to the Council online at 10am.
“These two new consents are to continue the sand mining which has already had a devastating impact on the Mangawhai to Pakiri beaches, damaging seabed ecosystems, disrupting sea bird feeding and nesting habitats, and causing irreversible coastal erosion,” says Jessie. “The mining company McCallum Brothers have been taking sand from this location for generations, creating great scientific and community concern”.
You can see a screen recording of the meeting and presentation here:
Following the online meeting, the petitions were handed in person to Councillors Efeso Collins and Pippa Coom, at 12.30pm at Albert Park. Endangered Species Foundation was represented in person by Trustee Stephen Goodger.
The coastline has been mined for 100 years and is home to many endangered birds including the tara iti, NZ Fairy Tern. The tara iti Tern is New Zealand’s most endangered bird, and with less than 40 remaining is extremely close to extinction.
“There are only nine breeding pairs in the whole country, with six pairs that nest at Mangawhai and one at Pakiri.,” says Stephen. “It’s madness that we are threatening their already vulnerable existence by mining more sand in this area.”
Mangawhai and Pakiri locals, as well as Auckland rate payers, are taking a stand against three new consent applications to extract sand off their shoreline. If Auckland Council grants the consents mining company McCallum Bros will be able to extract millions more tonnes of sand from the embayment.
Save Our Sands (SOS), a community group with the support of Te Whānau o Pakiri, Greenpeace, Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society, and the Endangered Species Foundation, is urging New Zealanders to oppose the consents to protect the coastline from further sand mining.
The petitions:
Media contact - Save our Sands
Jessie Stanley - 021 228 8581
Photo files available on request after the event, email: jessieclarissastanley@gmail.com