Prime Auckland waterfront parkland will be leased to a coalition of Māori groups to build a marae, but concerns have been raised about the environmental impact and the decision-making process.

A long-held desire to build a marae in Te Atatū came a step closer after the Henderson-Massey Local Board voted to lease a paddock near the motorway to a coalition of Māori organisations on Tuesday.

Flats, a meeting house, a food hall and several other buildings were planned for 2.5ha of the Harbourview-Orangihina Park, and the current leaseholder, the Te Atatū Pony Club, will have to surrender part of the land they use.

The land has expansive views of the Waitematā Harbour, along with Rangitoto, Mt Eden-Maungawhau, One Tree Hill-Maungakiekie, Mt Albert-Ōwairaka and the Waitākere Ranges-Te Waonui a Tiriwa.

Local board member Dr Will Flavell said the vote to approve the lease marked “a historic day, 50 years in the making”, saying it granted “the mana to fundraise, develop, and build a marae for all our community to enjoy”.

The local board itself said on social media it was “pretty excited about the ... agreement to lease and ground lease to the Te Atatū Marae Coalition”.

The board received 44 submissions about the proposed lease, all of which supported the marae. Eighteen of the submissions, though, raised concerns about “the land tenure, the Te Atatū Marae Coalition mandate, and an alleged lack of consultation” with a Māori group.

An independent ecologist and the Māori group voiced dismay at the board’s decision to lease the land to the coalition, a group made up of the Te Atatū Marae Komiti, Te Puao o Te Atatū and the Waipareira Marae Incorporated Society.

Waipereira Trust chairman Ray Hall told the Herald the local board’s decision was “an outstanding outcome”.

Hall said: “Our community has done an outstanding job working with all the community and Auckland Council, from the main board down to our level.

“We’re very happy with the outcome. Now we can start to get on with what it is that we need to do to build out community.

“There have been two generations, of 50 years - there’s a whole cohort of rangatahi [youth] that could have used the marae [if it had been built earlier]. We’re excited for the future.”

 

The chairman of the Te Atatū Whānau Committee, David Tanenui, told the Herald they were concerned their lack of involvement in the development would see any marae disconnected from the community it was supposed to serve and said the local board had not consulted with them about the plan.

He called the disconnect between the Whānau Committee and the Marae Coalition “ugly” and wanted to see the issue resolved. He wanted a marae, but wanted the Whānau Committee, with a strong connection to the community, to lead the plans.

“We [the committee] drive everything. We drive the kaupapa [plans and ideas] here. We talk to the community. We have events we run. We do the planting. We do everything the [Te Atatū Marae] Coalition reckons they do, [but] they do nothing. We do it all,” Tanenui said.

“And no, we haven’t been in any of the consultations at all. [Our desire for the marae] was for it to be a reservation, which would give more autonomy to use on what we do on the marae, with us working with the community. That’s how we wanted to run it.

“We represent the community, and the community actually got a shock when they saw that our Whānau Committee weren’t involved with everything. It’s a disconnect.”

Hall said he had no comment to make regarding Tanenui’s concerns.

An ecologist with an interest in the area also outlined how Harbourview-Orangihina Park was used by threatened shorebirds and accused the Te Atatū Marae Coalition of dismissing the impact the plans would have on wildlife.

She was also concerned the planned 25ha set aside to be leased for the marae would be extended further and said “it’s astounding that this travesty is going under the radar”.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.