Kia ora koutou e te whānau,

We trust you are all well.

As always, we wanted to keep you up to date with what has been happening on site.

We are still waiting on the results of the investigation by the Chief Ombudsman into Auckland Council for the non-notification of resource consent and their consultation process.  At this stage we have no timeframe that we can share with you as to when this will happen.  Work is still on hold at this stage.

Ministry of Culture and Heritage

We have been advised by the mediator/facilitator appointed unilaterally by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage that this matter is now back with the Ministry.  As you know we requested the more formal process of mediation, which comes with it best practice guidelines for parties to abide by.  While the Ministry have yet to agree to that, we are hopeful that they will do so in due course, once all the information is available to all parties and a mutually agreed mediator is appointed.  We will let you know next steps as soon as we do.

Local Body Elections and Public Meetings

As we head into local body elections, those in the Waitematā Local Board area and Ōrākei Ward (which include Parnell), and the Waitematā and Gulf Ward have an opportunity to ask candidates what their position is in relation to the Erebus memorial and what if anything they would do if elected to stop it.  There is a public meeting organised by Parnell Community Committee and Parnell Heritage for Local Board candidates and Councillors at the Jubilee Hall in Parnell at 6.30pm on 17 August, and a further meeting for Mayoral Candidates at the same location on the 25 August run by Parnell Business Association.  A good turnout is important to ensure those candidates know what matters to our community.

You can find more information about these meetings by emailing us at contact@sosnz.org.nz. 

Local Body elections are an important opportunity to ensure that you are represented properly on issues that affect your neighbourhood.  The current Waitematā Local Board, dominated by one party, has seriously let the community down by not upholding the views of 77% who submitted in opposition to the Erebus memorial.  They chose Wellington’s views over the people they were elected to represent and voted to allow 132 tonnes of concrete to be poured into Te Hā’s roots.

PLEASE VOTE in the upcoming elections and PLEASE VOTE for candidates who you know care about Te Hā and your local community.  Based on our understanding and experience in Waitematā this is the 6 Communities and Residents (C&R) candidates, and the Auckland Independents candidate.  Don’t take our word for it, please come to the meeting and find out for yourself.

We will be in contact again as soon as we have any further updates.

As always thank you for your ongoing support to protect what exists.

Ngā mihi nui,

Dame Naida Glavish, Margaret Brough and the Protect Mataharehare Team

With the support of Parnell Community Committee and Parnell Heritage

Photo credit: John Crawford (www.johncrawford.co.nz)