Matatā managed retreat opponents settle 'reluctantly and under duress'

Thursday, 10 December 2020

In October 2020, after 15 years of stressful uncertainty, Marilyn and Rob Pearce gave up the fight for their Matatā home.

Staunch opponents of Matatā’s managed retreat from natural hazards have agreed to leave their Bay of Plenty homes, “reluctantly and under duress”.

Residents’ group Awatarariki Matatā e Tū posted to its Facebook page that “most of the remaining members of Awatarariki Residents have reluctantly & under duress agreed to settlement with WDC [Whakatane District Council]”.

The deal includes Pam, Rick and Rachel Whalley, who have been among the strongest critics of the managed retreat process.

Staunch managed retreat critics Pam, Rick and Rachel Whalley have reluctantly agreed to leave their beloved Matatā family home.

Following the 2005 debris flow which took out multiple homes, 34 properties were deemed to be at high risk of a recurrence and were part of a managed retreat buyout.

The rebuilt Matatā waterfront, before houses began being moved or demolished, as residents accepted managed retreat offers. (File photo)

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The 2005 debris flow took out several houses and made others unliveable.

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Matatā resident Greig Thorby said the managed retreat offer for his land was insulting and taking it would be financial suicide. (File photo)

When the offer expired on 31 October, 25 property owners had accepted the deal.

A legal change on 31 March, 2021 will effectively evict any remaining residents, by removing their rights to live on their own land.

The residents’ association was due to challenge that rule change in a week-long Environment Court hearing this month. There will instead be a half day hearing on 15 December.

While it is not clear exactly which remaining residents have agreed to settle, it is understood Lyall Magee, who owns two properties, and Greg Fahey, who lives in a shipping container, had left the association before the settlement.

Most of the other residents have already left.

In October, one of the longest-standing residents, Marilyn Pearce moved out, after the stress and uncertainty became too much.

Her waterfront land held six generations of family memories, and she had pledged to fight to the end.

“I’m still a bit like a stunned mullet,” Pearce said on moving day. “Because I really didn’t think it would get this far … If this is going to be a test case, this is not how to do it.”

Greig Thorby, who also lives in a shipping container and is not part of the residents’ association, has previously said that any move to evict him would be “a licence to war”.

Whakatāne District Council’s Jeff Farrell, who has run the managed retreat process, said he could not comment on the deal before the Environment Court hearing.