WHY is this so important?
- Ihumātao is of significant historical value to all New Zealanders as a site where some of the earliest Maori settlers arrived
- It was wrongfully confiscated in 1863 and soon after, granted to the Wallace family. In 2014 it was pushed through as a Special Housing Area (SHA) and sold to Fletchers in 2016. Every one of these events disregarded mana whenua
- Negotiations with Fletchers over the development, were held by people who did not represent most of the community
- The law provides no means for us to contest and we are unwilling to accept a compromise
- Our agenda is simple. Preserve, not profit
- Once this whenua is gone, it will never return
HELP PROTECT THIS LAND
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Background
The New Zealand Government supported the plans of trans-national corporation Fletcher Residential Limited to build high-priced dwellings on stolen land at Ihumātao that was reserved as public open space. The Government used the discriminatory provisions of the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas (SHA) Act 2013 to establish Special Housing Area 62 (SHA62) at Ihumātao.
The location for the proposed development is adjacent to the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve, a public green space, listed Heritage site, with a rich historical, environmental and cultural significance. On the other side you have the Ihumātao Pa, one of the last remaining original and livable papakainga in Aotearoa. Despite the strenuous opposition of mana whenua, descendants of the landowners have used the profoundly pro-development provisions of the SHA Act to have Puketaapapa designated for urban development in 2014. The Act fast tracks development of land for building of houses, minimising the rights of peoples to object, negotiate or disrupt any development proposed under its provisions.
The repeated failures of bureaucratic and political authorities to acknowledge the issues at Ihumātao have left mana whenua with no other option but to resist and oppose the development through peaceful, non-violent, and direct action till all legal and political means available are exhausted. There are multiple strands to mana whenua objections to the proposed development including erosion of cultural/spiritual values, identity damage, economic harms, loss of heritage landscapes and reduction in urban green open space.
The location for the proposed development is adjacent to the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve, a public green space, listed Heritage site, with a rich historical, environmental and cultural significance. On the other side you have the Ihumātao Pa, one of the last remaining original and livable papakainga in Aotearoa. Despite the strenuous opposition of mana whenua, descendants of the landowners have used the profoundly pro-development provisions of the SHA Act to have Puketaapapa designated for urban development in 2014. The Act fast tracks development of land for building of houses, minimising the rights of peoples to object, negotiate or disrupt any development proposed under its provisions.
The repeated failures of bureaucratic and political authorities to acknowledge the issues at Ihumātao have left mana whenua with no other option but to resist and oppose the development through peaceful, non-violent, and direct action till all legal and political means available are exhausted. There are multiple strands to mana whenua objections to the proposed development including erosion of cultural/spiritual values, identity damage, economic harms, loss of heritage landscapes and reduction in urban green open space.
"Ihumātao is an inappropriate location for such a development and SOUL requests that Auckland Council and the NZ Government revoke the Special Housing Area at Ihumātao".
Photo credit Raymond Sagapolutele
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Photo credit Raymond Sagapolutele
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soul rejects the development on the following grounds:
- The historical and cultural significance of this area is recognised as being unique to Auckland City. A development of this magnitude would diminish the historical and cultural significance of this area and remove its uniqueness.
- Ihumātao is one of the last remaining original and liveable papakainga in Aotearoa. Five-hundred high-density houses in such close proximity to Ihumātao, means it will no longer be recognised as a papakainga but rather it will be colonised and swamped by this development, transforming it to urban space.
- Development will put the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve at major risk of further damage, desecration and pollution.
- Puketapapa/Pukeiti is a waahi tapu site and is of spiritual significance particularly to whanau of Ihumātao.
- Establishing a housing development in such close proximity will desecrate the sanctity of this of this waahi tapu site.
- Establishing a dense development in a community that has already faced decades of continuous injustices will further impact on the mentality and stability of its residents, where a strong connection to place and space is important to their overall health and well-being.
- Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board has been working to conserve the area and establish the Mangere Gateway Heritage Project. This SHA 62 ruins the historical, cultural and environmental aspects of this unique landscape which is only achievable by retaining the current state of the Ōtuataua Stonefields Public Reserve, Ihumātao and its community.
- This development would bring approximately 2,500 more people and 1,00 more vehicles to a small semi-rural community that does not have the amenities or services to cope with an added population and volume of traffic of this scale.
- There is no infrastructure (water or wastewater connections) to service a housing development such as this.
- Urban Sprawls are characterised by issues such as high density traffic, overcrowding, poor air quality, lack of access to parks, sports facilities and low connectivity.
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Ihumātao Now
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Ihumātao with high-density housing
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SOUL takes the issue to the united nations
The issues surrounding SHA62 were presented at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York in May 2017. Highlighted were a number of grievous breaches against the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In August of the same year, we travelled to Geneva to further at the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that despite the claims to the contrary by the New Zealand Government and Auckland Council, there are manifest transgressions against te Tiriti o Waitangi, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (esp General recommendation 23) and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
As a result of our presentations to the United Nation the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has criticised the Government’s process for setting up Special Housing Area 62 at Ihumātao near Auckland International Airport and issued a strong recommendation for a review of this designation. Two clauses of the 2017 UNCERD report notes the inadequacy of the consultation with mana whenua over the establishment of SHA 62 and calls for a "review, in consultation with all affected Māori, [of] the designation of Special Housing Area 62 to evaluate its conformity with the Treaty of Waitangi, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other relevant international standards.”
As a result of our presentations to the United Nation the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has criticised the Government’s process for setting up Special Housing Area 62 at Ihumātao near Auckland International Airport and issued a strong recommendation for a review of this designation. Two clauses of the 2017 UNCERD report notes the inadequacy of the consultation with mana whenua over the establishment of SHA 62 and calls for a "review, in consultation with all affected Māori, [of] the designation of Special Housing Area 62 to evaluate its conformity with the Treaty of Waitangi, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other relevant international standards.”
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