Lots of things have been happening, and many people have been lobbying on the community’s behalf to oppose the large proposed ‘Waimauku West’ development.
Next community meeting 22 July at 7pm
Make sure to come to our next community meeting next week Wednesday 22 July 7pm, Waimauku RSA:
Waimauku West: Different era, same spot
An update on the Waimauku West Fast-track Housing Development.
What’s different, what’s new, what can we do…
Here’s the latest updates:
Update from Councillor Greg Sayers
Councillor Greg Sayers spoke to Mayor Wayne Brown about the Waimauku West Fast-track development, which Auckland Council opposes. Wayne Brown met with both Minister Bishop (Housing & Infrastructure) and Minister Watts (Local Government) to discuss Fast-tracking projects within Auckland.
The Mayor outlined to the Ministers he does not support Fast-track projects that are not ‘shovel ready’, nor does he support Fast-track project that are outside of the Rural Urban Boundary (RUB) because Auckland Council does not have any investment plans to extend key infrastructure to locations outside of the RUB. Waimauku West was given as an example and that it should be withdrawn from the government’s process. Despite the Mayor’s concerns the Ministers were keen to progress Fast-track applications as they deemed appropriate, including Waimauku West.
Local MP Chris Penk
Our Co-Chairs Tatjana Ratsdorf & Carla Sutton received confirmation that our local MP has written a letter to the Environment Protection Authority. Here is an excerpt from his letter: “In summary, I express my own view – and I think on behalf of the majority of the community – that any new development in Waimauku and the rest of northwest Auckland should properly account for the risk of flooding, as experienced previously, and also the cost of supporting infrastructure.”
Click here to read the full letter.
Response from Minister Chris Bishop
Chris Bishop, Minister for Infrastructure is the minister who signed off the first stage of the Fast-track Process for Waimauku West. Carla Sutton, WCA founding member, wrote to Chris Bishop, and received a reply on 7 July.
Mr Bishop says “I referred the project to the Fast-track approval process as I was satisfied that it is an infrastructure or development project that would have significant regional or national benefits. I do not have any further decision-making role in that process.”
He also mentions that “the expert panel is still required to assess the environmental impacts of the proposal against relevant local and national planning documents, just as a council would. In addition, local councils, relevant Māori groups, and adjacent landowners and occupiers will be invited to provide comments to assist the expert panel’s assessment.
The decision on who to invite comments from is made by the expert panel… Where projects are approved, the expert panel can impose conditions on those approvals to ensure that any potential adverse effects of the project on the surrounding environment are managed appropriately.”
Meeting with Hon. Tau Henare
Our Waimauku West Opposition Project Lead Joe Holden and Co-Chair Tatjana Ratsdorf recently met with Hon. Tau Henare, Houkura Independent Māori Statutory Board Deputy Chair, to discuss Waimauku West and the issues around it. The meeting with Tau was very insightful and it was interesting to get more of a glimpse into central government processes too.
Update from Joe Holden – Waimauku West Opposition Project Lead
June has been a positive month for the Waimauku Community Association. Membership has grown exponentially, the message about the adverse effects we can expect from the Waimauku West Fast-track is becoming widely understood with the community making their position very clear.
The WCA has been consistent in our approach to this challenge:
With the Waimauku West Fast-track consent being driven by central government, our campaign is focused on our Central Government Representatives Chris Penk (our local MP) and Chris Bishop (Minister for Housing & Infrastructure), the minister responsible for approving the Waimauku West Fast-track referral.
It was welcome to see, that Chris Penk has written a letter to the EPA and that Chris Bishop has acknowledged our Co-Chair Carla Sutton’s letter.
Talking about the community’s voice, one interesting topic of conversation I’ve been part of regularly is that I seldom speak to concerned people who say outright they don’t want any development whatsoever. Generally, the message is that as a community we want and need infrastructure ahead of development and that needs to include robust measurable flood mitigation.
I think what we are seeing is an understanding that local and central government investment in infrastructure requires a return on investment. The return manifests in a larger rating base, a larger GST take and therefore more income for council and government. That understanding makes us strong – we bring an informed, thorough, balanced and compelling debate to the table.
When I refer to this journey as a David and Goliath battle the response is often “why bother, how can we expect to win” and we need to visit that conversation, crossing swords with Ministers who seem to believe they are untouchable is not for everyone and yes, sometimes it’s really hard to see light at the end of the tunnel.
But doing nothing is worse: We live in a country where we can take an open public stance in opposition to our government, where we can stand up and tell them – “You do right by us or you will be out. We the people hold you to account.”
We are lucky to be in that space and therefore we will use it. If central government is going to ignore not only our concerns but ignore common sense and impose hardship on us, then we have a duty to take the fight back to them.
Looking ahead we have some workshops with affected parties and a representative from the Waimauku West development in the coming weeks.
Your efforts and support do make a difference, keep spreading the word, keep commenting, keep emailing – we are gaining ground whilst our opponents are on the back foot.
Transport/Roading
Locals know how busy our roads are already, but factual numbers are always good to find to back up what we are saying:
Nicky James, WCA founding member, found on the NZTA website that “every day, over 36,000 vehicles use the route between Brigham Creek and Kumeū and over 15,000 vehicles travel between Huapai and Waimauku.” Compare this against Transmission Gully which carries around 22,000 vehicles daily. “Residential and business growth has increased and this will continue as the north-west develops. This increases vehicle numbers and puts pressure on our network.” (NZTA, 2026).
Northwest Community Forum
Guy Wishart (Rodney Local Board) and Tatjana Ratsdorf (WCA Co-Chair) are working tirelessly to develop a network between community groups:
On 2 July they ran the first Northwest Community Forum, which aims to promote connection between community groups in the wider area, inform groups about current opportunities and issues, and encourage collaboration to build a stronger, more connected community.
We shared information about Waimauku West and it was a great opportunity to connect with groups from the wider region. Insufficient infrastructure and flooding, as well as a lack of volunteers were the most commonly highlighted challenges and threats amongst attendees. Most participants’ current focus is on raising awareness of current Fast-track developments such as Waimauku West or the Dome Valley landfill, environmental regeneration or flood mitigation and a growing emphasis on connecting communities.
We’re looking forward to the next forum in September!
Membership & Supporters update
We are absolutely chuffed that we now have nearly 550 members!
Numbers are growing steadily and awareness is increasing, so keep spreading the word and tell everyone about the negative impacts this development will bring to the wider area.
We have also gained support and have connected with multiple other community groups and individuals, including Kumeū-Huapai Community Association, Muriwai Environmental Trust, Huapai-Kumeu Lions, Forest & Bird and Business Northwest.
Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers, Rodney Local Board Chair Guy Wishart and Rodney Local Board Member Matt Ross continue to advocate for and endorse the Waimauku Community Association.
We are very grateful for their support!