Every year, 76,000m³ are taken in water five to ten metres deep in the Mangawhai-Pakiri bay area: the site of the largest single nearshore sand mining activity in the developed world. The company, Kaipara Limited, responsible for much of the mining since 2006, are seeking to renew their consents to continue mining.

If the application is approved, it will allow Kaipara Limited to extract up to a total of 2,000,000m³ of sand from an area of 44km² within the coastal marine area over a 20-year period. 

The application will be heard by hearing commissioners Les Simmons (Chairperson), Karyn Kurzeja, Melean Absolum and Juliane Chetham at a hearing from Monday 1st to Thursday 4th March, 2021, and Monday 8th to Friday 12th March, 2021 at the Warkworth Town Hall. Two days of this hearing will be held in the Pakiri Hall, dates to be advised.  

The group ‘Friends of Pakiri Beach’, along with hundreds of locals, are strongly opposed to this operation and have made submissions against the licence renewal. There are two documents over 800 pages long explaining why the sand mining at Pakiri Beach should stop.

Mining at Pakiri has been happening for over 80 years, and people who have regularly visited the beach over this time have seen a noticeable difference in the landscape. 

Pakiri Beach is a precious ecosystem, home to the Fairy Tern, New Zealand's rarest bird: there are only 40 left. Sand mining has the potential to drastically change their habitat, putting these rare birds at risk. 

In 2006, the High Court ruled in favour of sand mining, despite the objections of Pakiri residents and the Auckland Regional Council. 

The Environment Court decided that natural sand replenishment would compensate for sand taken, and so has continued to allow mining for the past 14 years. However, coastal scientists didn't necessarily agree, saying that only erosion of the sand dunes sand would replace the sand taken. 

Those who live in the area and those who frequently visit Pakiri Beach understand how lucky we are to have such beautiful natural ecosystems on our doorstep. Sand mining could put these ecosystems in jeopardy.