Ngāti Kahu o Torongare spokeswoman Nicki Wakefield and kaumātua Richard Shepherd at Onoke Pā. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
"The best Christmas present ever" - that's how a Whangārei hapū is describing a court decision quashing consents for a housing development on land they say has huge significance to Māori.
On Thursday the Environment Court released its findings into an appeal by Ngāti Kahu o Torongare against council consents for a 93-lot subdivision on the flanks of Onoke Pā, in the suburb of Te Kamo.
The judges' ruling was critical of council decision-making and failures to protect the land, saying it was "one of the clearest cases we have seen of an inappropriate site being listed for development where it contains sites of significance to Māori and historic heritage".
The judges said it was clear, under the council's own rules, that consent should have been refused.
Ngāti Kahu o Torongare spokeswoman Nicki Wakefield said the decision was "the best Christmas present for us, as the hapū, and the many who supported this appeal".
Wakefield said the hapū felt vindicated after an exhausting, and unnecessary, legal battle that had lasted more than a year.
It had been unnecessary because a similar development on the same land had been thrown out by the court almost 30 years earlier, she said.
"The judges' decision is really strong. It points out how, as the hapū, we should not have been put through this for the second time.
"There were many failures of council and the applicant. They are well described in this decision, and they need to take some fault for putting us through a kind of Groundhog Day over more than a year now," she said.
"We've had to put a lot of effort into this appeal so, absolutely, we feel vindicated and just glad that there are protections for places of significance to us all."
A sign opposing the development seen on Dip Road, in Te Kamo. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Wakefield said the appeal had come at a hefty cost for the small Whangārei hapū, but they had yet to make a decision about trying to recover their costs.
"For now, we're just celebrating. It's only after a few hours that I'm able to talk about it without crying, because it's just such good news. Our time hasn't been wasted and we were in the right," she said.
The judges gave all parties until 31 January to lodge any disputes about the findings or applications for costs.
Wakefield said she was also heartened by the prospect - raised in the judges' ruling - of further protections for Onoke and its puriri trees, which the hapū also regarded as significant.
The appeal was in the name of hapū member Chantez Connor-Kingi against a consent granted to developer Onoke Heights Ltd by the Whangārei District Council, following a decision by an independent commissioner.
Groundhog Day was a 1993 comedy movie starring Bill Murray, in which the main character is trapped in a time loop and forced to repeatedly relive a single day of his life.
The Onoke Pā issue has been likened to Groundhog Day because the hapū had to fight the same battle twice, in 1996 and again in 2024.
A Whangārei District Council spokeswoman said the council respected the Environment Court process, and the input and perspectives of all parties involved.
"We will take the time to work through the findings. However, given the matter is still before the court it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."
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