Hapu fights back against wind farm proposal

A Māori trust says plans to bring people back to their ancestral land have been put on hold as it fights to protect sacred sites − one of them more than 1000 years old − from a proposed wind farm development.

Waiuku locals have been pushing back at a plan to build 13 giant wind turbines up to 190m high on a 560ha site near Karioitahi Beach, which was approved for fast tracking under the Covid-19 Recovery Act in December last year.

In May, a three-person panel of experts was appointed to asses the application and invite submissions from those involved, and directly affected by, the proposal.

The panel has so far sent four requests − made up of more than 115 individual questions − for additional information to the project’s developers, LET Capital Number 3 Ltd (LET).

Additional time has been given to LET to answer those questions and the panel has pushed out its deadline for a final decision to September 17.

The panel also decided a hearing would not be held because of time constraints and the difficulty of getting all affected parties together at the same time.

In its response to the panel’s invitation to comment, the Huarau Trust said its people have had a “deeply entrenched connection to the land for many centuries that is now threatened by technology in the name of sustainability”.

Trust spokesperson Ngaire Raumati said plans for papakāinga on their ancestral land had been stalled, an ancient urupa more than 1000 years old was positioned less than 200m from one of the turbines, and there were old pa sites and other urupa dotted around the site.

“We expect the total impact of all these massive, vibrating, noisy, and shadow-casting structures along with the mass infrastructure and decommissioning aftermath will once again leave our people and these taonga, overlooked and exploited,” Raumati However, Raumati said the process had at least one silver lining in terms of bringing locals together. “These things affect everyone, not just us as Māori ... and to build new connections and re-engage with the community has been a real bonus.”

However, Waiuku’s Rebecca Payne said the wind farm would help protect against future electricity shortages, bring jobs to the area, and the “turbines are mesmerising to watch and make a nice landmark”.

The owners of Maiora Heights, a family farming company near Waiuku, said in their statement that “many of us have talked about this area being very suitable for a wind farm for years”.

“(Developer) LET Capital has given clear information and been open with their communication about all their plans and proposed construction,” a spokesperson said.

They said a recent visit to a wind farm left them “pleasantly surprised” that wind noise was louder than the turbines themselves, and the area “had become some sort of tourist attraction that people loved to witness”.

“This could be beneficial to our local area as we could bring more people to our small town and help support our local economy.”

Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly said he had written to the panel several times, “outlining my constituents’ concerns and asking to be invited to comment or meet with them”.

He said the panel did not ask him to comment as part of its investigation however, he has continued to meet with concerned locals to “offer support as far as possible”.