Major Auckland iwi supports Winston Peters' election port promise

Thursday, 28 September 2017

Ngati Whatua O Orakei spokesman Ngarimu Blair shares how his iwi is backing the idea to move Ports of Auckland to Whangarei's Northport and urges the new government to make it happen.

National or Labour it doesn't matter, what matters is Winston Peters honouring his 'cast-iron' guarantee to move Ports of Auckland, according to a prominent Auckland iwi.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei wants Peters to stick to his guns over moving the 'squatter' port.

Iwi spokesman Ngarimu Blair said the election result and America's Cup's return had brought a 'perfect storm' acting as a catalyst for government to make 'big, bold moves' over Auckland's waterfront.

Election kingmaker NZ First leader Winston Peters wants Ports of Auckland moved to Whangarei's Northport by 2027.

During the election campaign, Peters vowed to shift container operations from Auckland to Northland should his party be in a position of influence after the election.

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Ports of Auckland said Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei's 'squatter' claim is 'factually incorrect'.

* Between a rock and a hard place**

Peters said his party's 'cast iron commitment' would see operations move to Northport at Marsden Point near Whangarei by the end of 2027.

The suitability of Whangarei's 80 per cent smaller Northport as Auckland's new port has been dismissed by shipping industry commentator Dave MacIntyre.

On Thursday, Blair said: 'We're just trying to push this conversation along, we're happy to put our oar in the water, just like many other Aucklanders have over the last three to four years in opposition to the port's attempts to further reclaim the harbour and put more cars on the waterfront.

'We want to help council begin a conversation with Aucklanders about how this land, the crown jewel of Tāmaki Makaurau, can be used for the people of the city to play, work and live, rather than continue to be cut off by containers and used cars,' Blair said.

Part of Auckland's prime waterfront land is used to import and store mostly used Japanese cars.

The iwi claims the port is 'heavily subsidised by council to squat on New Zealand's best waterfront land', an allegation the port denies.

Ports of Auckland spokesman Matt Ball said the iwi's claim is 'factually incorrect'.

'Last financial year we paid Auckland Council $51.3 million in dividends, which keeps rates bills down by 4 per cent.

'In the last five years Ports of Auckland has earned nearly a quarter of a billion dollars for Aucklanders,' Ball said.

Ball also said moving Auckland's port to Whangarei's significantly smaller Northport would require 'a great deal of new infrastructure, including road, rail, new wharves'.

'A new container terminal, would need to be built before the port activities could be relocated.'

On Wednesday, shipping industry commentator Dave MacIntyre called the port shift proposal untenable.

'For a port, you really want to be as near as possible to your target market you're serving,' he said.

Northland would also be ill-equipped to handle up the volumes unless it had a rail link.

'If you don't have a rail line, you can just imagine the truck traffic that would require.

'To be honest, I don't think that would be tenable,' MacIntyre said.

But Ngarimu Blair said that within 60 years Auckland's port would outgrow the waterfront and would need to be moved anyway and now was the time.

'We know one thing for sure is the port will stay there forever if they get the chance.'

Moving the port was 'a conversation Aucklanders need to start now'.

Winston Peters and Transport Minister Simon Bridges have been approached for comment.