Auckland port move to Northland would take more than 30 years, Northport says

Thursday, 19 December 2019

Northport says it does not have enough space to handle all of Ports of Auckland's operations, watering down recommendations the hub moves north within 15 years.

The Government is exploring options for moving Auckland's port, after a working party led by former Far North mayor Wayne Brown recommended the port's operations move 140km north.

But Northport chief executive officer Jon Moore said the port at Whangārei's Marsden Point does not have the footprint to accommodate all of Ports of Auckland's operations.

Northport at Marsden Point has ability to expand east and west (left and right in this picture), as well as 180ha of greenfield land (upper right).

'We don't believe that Ports of Auckland will fit lock, stock and barrel into Northport … It needs a bit more planning,' Moore told a group of Northland business representatives on Thursday night.

Jon Moore, Northport CEO, says Northport is ready to grow but can't take all of Ports of Auckland's operations.

* Auckland port move: Government to explore options more fully

* Auckland port move: Study favours $10b plan to shift hub to Northport at Marsden Point

* Auckland Port move: Import costs would rise by up to $600m says new study**

While Northport was ready to grow and take on a larger percentage of freight, Port of Tauranga and Ports of Auckland would be part of the picture for the next 30 years, he said.

New Zealand's freight was predicted to grow by 55 per cent by 2042 and Northport was prepared to take much of that growth, Moore said.

Northport was partly owned by Port of Tauranga, while Ports of Auckland also had a stake in its part-owner, Marsden Maritime Holdings.

Patuharakeke's Juliane Chetham and Gilbert Paki have cultural concerns about the port move.

Moore said the ownership structure had worked well for 20 years and the three ports were prepared to work together.

Meanwhile, Northport was trying to make it viable for Devonport Naval Base to move to Whangārei.

Moore told business leaders the port had applied for funding for a shipyard, including a state-of-the-art dry dock big enough to take the navy's largest vessels, enabling the naval move.

Northport at Marsden Point, Whangārei, is in a natural deep-water channel.

The shipyard project would be one of the biggest economic drivers for Northland, he said.

If the navy moved to Whangārei, up to 1200 people would need to relocate.

Northland business leaders were behind both Ports of Auckland's operations and the navy moving north.

NorthChamber vice president Tim Robinson said there was no downside for Northland if port operations moved to Northport.

'This is a greenfields opportunity – if we get this right it will be a world-leading opportunity. Let's address things that could be obstacles.'

Northland needed to show it was 'open and ready for business' and able to handle the growth that would come with more port operations, he said.

The sentiment was reflected by elected members. Kaipara mayor Jason Smith, chairman of the Northland Mayoral Forum, said all Northland mayors were supportive of Ports of Auckland's industrial operations moving to Northport.

Whangārei deputy mayor Greg Innes said Whangārei had already been planning for Marsden Point to be a small city, and it had space for new housing as well as land zoned for freight and logistics.

But cultural concerns were raised at the meeting by tangata whenua.

Juliane Chetham said Patuharakeke was still assessing the cultural impact of the shipyard and dry dock, let alone if the ports expanded.

She said the hapu had not benefited from other 'Think Big' projects, such as the mothballed Ruakaka power station but its access to kaimoana had been compromised.

Environmental experts also had concerns about the port move with Orca Research Trust founder and principal scientist Ingrid Visser saying she was 'horrified' at the suggestion, given the importance of Whangārei Harbour to orca and other species.

Northland residents are generally supportive of Ports of Auckland moving to Northland.

A Neighbourly poll showed 77 per cent thought the move would be great for Northland's economy, while 12 per cent said it would be an environmental disaster and 7 per cent said it would be terrible for the roads.