Protesters protecting Kennedy Point penguins say they are left with 'no choice'

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

With legal avenues exhausted, the protectors at Kennedy Point say they've no choice but to occupy the beach.

Protesters trying to stop construction work they believe could harm little blue penguins at Waiheke’s Kennedy Point say they have been left with “no choice” but to take urgent legal action.

Save Kennedy Point campaigners took their fight to the High Court on Monday, when they filed an application for an injunction and judicial review against Auckland Council and the Department of Conservation with Kennedy Point Boat Harbour Limited a party to proceedings.

Protestors at the site of a controversial marina development on Waiheke Island with model penguins on display.

They were joined by other animal welfare groups and Waiheke mana whenua representatives the Ngāti Paoa Trust Board.

Developers have been trying to build a 180-berth marina at Kennedy Point – which is home to the penguins – but have, so far, been stopped by locals and activists.

Protesters have occupied Waiheke's Kennedy Point to prevent marina construction starting.

* The Detail: The controversy behind Waiheke Island's Kennedy Point marina

* Rush to protect penguins at Waiheke's Kennedy Point as developers move in

Animal welfare groups and local iwi have joined the legal action against the developers.

Construction was set to start on Monday, however it was halted again when opponents of the project stepped in, Save Kennedy Point chief executive Sebastian Cassie said.

The marina resource consent has been under appeal before the Supreme Court, so Cassie said they had “no choice but to bring on urgent proceedings to protect the penguin, who call Kennedy Point Bay home”.

According to Cassie, during the meeting, all the experts, including the developers own expert, agreed no further construction works should be undertaken at Kennedy Point until a proper penguin monitoring and protection plan had been prepared and implemented.

“So, on Monday we were expecting the developer to come back and say, ‘OK, we agree to do what the experts said needs to be done, stop all works and prepare and implement a plan to protect the penguins’.

“When this didn’t happen, we knew we had no choice but to file urgent applications with the High Court, to protect the penguin and force the developer to do what all the experts have said has to be done.”

The opponents of the marina are mainly concerned about impact on the environment and the threat to the little blue penguin, the kororā, which nest in the bay.

The fight to appeal the marina has been going for the past four years, and has seen the battle taken through the Environment Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and now the Supreme Court, where it’s waiting on the outcome of a last-ditch appeal.

A decision from the Supreme Court on whether SKP have the right to appeal the consent again is expected later this month.

Director of Kennedy Point Marina Kitt Littlejohn said they had taken feedback on-board and engaged an expert to implement a monitoring programme, with a review expected in about three weeks.

He said there had been “a great deal of misunderstanding” and the developer’s priority was always to protect the penguins.

People opposed to the Kennedy Point marina on Waiheke travelled by boat from the Island to Takapuna to protest outside the developers' offices in Takapuna, Auckland.

All work had been approved by Auckland Council, including stipulations about construction work to avoid any harm to the penguins, he said.

It’s not just the penguins that are a sticking point for the protesters, local iwi are also opposed to the development.

Ngāti Paoa Trust Board have felt locked out of the consultation process, with their co-chair, Danella Roebeck, saying the legal action could have been avoided if the developer had consulted properly with them.

Ngāti Paoa have recently put a rāhui over the waters surrounding Waiheke, which Roebuck said was broken by the developer commencing work.

“By failing to consult with the Ngāti Paoa Trust Board the developer is in breach of the rāhui placed by the kāumatua and kuia of Ngāti Paoa.

“The Trust Board will not sit back and allow Paoa’s mana to be trampled on for the wellbeing of our taonga species, including the Kororā, which are under threat by this marina development.”

One of the sticking points for whānau whānui of Waiheke’s Piritahi Marae, which opposes the development, is the marina’s proposal to bury sewage tanks in the seabed.

It’s “inconceivable”, argues Jacqueline Carter (Ngāti Awa, Waitaha, Ngāi Tai, Ngāti Maru, Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pākehā).

“Not just in the fact that we might want to come here and get a kai, but because of the tapu that we are talking about.”

But while the legal battle drags on, occupiers have set up shop on the beach, voicing their opposition and stopping work from going ahead – in one instance kayakers blocked a construction barge from entering the harbour.