Posted on July 23, 2025
Auckland Council has agreed to investigate whether it should have done more to monitor past sand mining near Pākiri Beach.
After allowing sand mining along the Mangawhai-Pākiri coast for decades, the council declined McCallum Brothers Ltd’s (MBL) resource consent renewal for the area in 2022, citing concerns about the environment and impact on mana whenua and local people.
The consent expired in 2023, and MBL has been operating in the area under a temporary permit since then.
Recently, the company set its sights on Bream Bay further up the coast, and its proposal to take eight million cubic metres of sand from Bream Bay’s seabed over 35 years was greenlit for fast-track consideration.
But the Bream Bay Guardians Society, a group of locals opposing the fast-track application, have called on the council to investigate MBL for alleged breaches of the conditions of its old Pākiri resource consent.
Local Damon Clapshaw helped uncover the existence of trenches up to 2.7m deep, 15m wide and 3km long near Pākiri Beach created by MBL’s dredging.
However, Auckland Council never took any enforcement action against MBL.
Malcolm Morrison from the Bream Bay Guardians said it was unfair MBL can claim a clean track record on their fast-track application.
“As Bream Bay residents, obviously, we’re concerned about the environment in general. But our particular concern is that [MBL] in their application to do sand mining at Bream Bay have said they’ve never been prosecuted for any breach of consent for any of their sand mining activities.
“They can say that because for nearly 20 years, Auckland Council neglected its duty as a regulator to oversee the extraction process with no regular checks and audits.”
He said once the council was informed about the trenches, a council staff member determined it had a “less than minor” effect on the environment.
“To us, that’s impossible. Experts involved in reviewing the Pākiri case couldn’t agree on how bad the trenching was, and here’s a council staff member saying it’s not bad at all and it’s not worth discussing much.”
Protestors on Ruakākā Beach, in Bream Bay, in January.
Auckland Council’s environmental monitoring manager Robert Laulala confirmed to RNZ that the council assessed the potential environmental effects of the trenches were “less than minor”.
“A decision was made in mid-2022 not to pursue formal enforcement action against the consent holder for the alleged breach of resource consent conditions.
“This decision was informed by input from the council’s technical specialists and legal advisors.
“A key consideration in this process was whether the alleged breach, based on the information available at the time, resulted in significant adverse environmental effects (i.e. more than minor) and met the legal threshold for prosecution. It was determined that the available evidence did not meet this threshold and that the potential environmental effects were assessed as ‘less than minor’.”
He told RNZ the council met with the Bream Bay Guardians in July 2025.
“The discussion mainly focused on the council’s role as a regulator in relation to consented coastal extraction activities at Pākiri, including how historic compliance matters have been assessed over time.
“As part of our commitment to transparency and good regulatory practice, the council has agreed to look into past decisions relating to compliance at Pākiri sand mining, including whether further investigation may have been warranted. This will help assess whether those decisions were appropriate in the circumstances.
“Auckland Council does not accept allegations of regulatory negligence. Any determination regarding the council’s performance must be based on a full understanding of the facts and the processes followed at the time.”
MBL managing director Callum McCallum confirmed to RNZ that it was in the process of applying for a resource consent to extract marine sand via a trailing suction barge off the coast of Te Ākau, Bream Bay.
“There has been several allegations made by various groups over the course of the Fast-track process (including by media) against MBL that it considers to be factually incorrect and defamatory. The consequence of this may prejudice MBL’s business going forward and cause pecuniary loss to MBL.
“With regard to the expired offshore sand extraction consent, the allegations made by various parties concerning trench dimensions and sand extraction occurring outside the consented area were heavily traversed and thoroughly addressed through council hearings and court proceedings. In any event, no enforcement action or otherwise was taken by Auckland Council against MBL while the now expired offshore sand extraction consent was in effect.”
After the council rejected MBL’s resource consent renewal bid, the company tried and failed to get the decision overturned by the Environment Court in 2024. It has appealed the case to the High Court.
In the meantime, a temporary consent was granted allowing MBL to continue dredging at Pākiri until its court process challenging the council’s decision was complete.
McCallum told RNZ that no trenches were present within the extraction area under its temporary consent and that it was operating within permitted boundaries.
“The current temporary consent includes modern monitoring conditions, such as regular bathymetric monitoring and track recording of the vessel’s location, which mitigates the risk of the formation of trenches.”
