Good article in the New Zealand Herald Thursday 15 about consents given to undertake works at nationally significant surf breaks that may harm them.

Al Gillespie, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Professor of Law at University of Waikato, criticises recent decisions to

• Renew the dredging consent of 10,000 cubic metres per year from the channel at Whangamata
• Allow dumping 400,000 cubic metres a year in front of nationally important surf breaks at “The Spit” and 350,000 in the path of the Whareakeake and Karitane breaks.

All these places are among the list of 17 surf breaks recognised as nationally important in the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement.

The Piha breaks are nominated for inclusion in the new Auckland Unitary Plan, yet we already have proposed sand mining along the coast.

Read Al’s article here

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10912395