Ōhau wall: Legal threat looms and Rotorua ex-mayor admits fault in due diligence
The regional council denied breaching consent, citing improved Lake Rotorua water quality and disputing harmful leakage. It said the wall was structurally sound and repairs could be costly and unnecessary.
The lakes community groups presented their case again at today's regional council meeting. They pressed for urgent attention to corroding king piles, which they said were necessary for any long-term solution.
They rejected the council's recommendations of a 'dynamic adaptation pathway planning' solution. That proposal would involve the council monitoring and investigating the wall unless diverted to other solutions by further information.
This pathway was eventually approved at the meeting, but concerns around its timeline and Lake Rotoiti's degrading quality resulted in two amendments: that all investigations and trialling options be expedited and options for improving Lake Rotoiti water quality be hastened.
This would include trialling work, particularly involving the king piles, described as the most critical structural component.
The council believed the king piles would be sound until 2038. However, their integrity is key to any long-term solutions and repair options would be assessed.
Holes visible in the Ōhau Channel diversion wall. Photo / Supplied
Before today's decision, an initial dive inspection and structural analysis was scheduled for next year.
Winters labelled previous trials a 'waste of time' and was 'really disappointed' with the council's report, calling it a deference rather than a decision.
The regional councillor was Rotorua's mayor when the wall was approved and constructed.
Winters is stepping down at October's election but suggested he would not take his 'eye off the ball' again.
Former Rotorua mayor and Bay of Plenty Regional councillor Kevin Winters. Photo / Andrew Warner
'It was my fault as Mayor of Rotorua,' he said. 'I dropped the ball in terms of the due diligence from our engineers at the time and it came back to bite me big time. I am not going to let this be a second time in terms of a long-term solution going forward.'
Councillor Jane Nees agreed there was a 'serious problem'.
'I don't agree it is not as pressing as staff are telling us,' said Nees.
She suggested they could not be certain Lake Rotoiti would not worsen and, no matter what their next steps were, work needed to be expedited.
Lakes Water Quality Society chairman John Gifford (left) speaking at a Bay of Plenty Regional Council meeting. Photo / Mathew Nash
Regional council chief executive Fiona McTavish said she had been advised legal action was a possibility from the community groups.
Lakes Water Quality Society chairman John Gifford told the meeting they would rather avoid legal action but had done 'due diligence' and it remained 'on the table'.
As for the expediting of the repair investigations, he remains unconvinced.
'The proof will be in the delivery,' said Gifford.
'I think even though there was some indication of urgency, it is hard to see how that is going to roll out practically.'
The trial and inspection regime was budgeted at $1.9m under the council's most recent long-term plan.
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Nagasaki mayor warns of nuclear war, 80 years after A-bomb
By Irene Wang and Issei Kato , for Reuters Doves fly past a Peace Statue at the Peace Park in Nagasaki after being released during a memorial ceremony on 9 August, to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing during World War II. Photo: AFP/ Jiji Press Thousands have bowed their heads in prayer in Nagasaki to mark the 80th anniversary of the city's atomic bombing, as the mayor warned that current global conflicts could push the world again into nuclear war. The western Japanese city was levelled on 9 August, 1945, when the United States dropped a 10,000 pound plutonium-239 bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man", instantly killing some 27,000 of the city's estimated 200,000 people. By the end of 1945, the death toll from acute radiation exposure had reached about 70,000. Nagasaki's destruction came three days after a US uranium-235 bomb destroyed Hiroshima . Japan surrendered on 15 August, ending World War II. After a moment of silence at 11:02 am on Saturday, marking the time of the blast, Mayor Shiro Suzuki called on leaders to return to the principles of the UN Charter and show a concrete path toward abolishing nuclear weapons, warning that delay was "no longer permissible". "This is a crisis of human survival that is closing in on each and every one of us," Suzuki told the crowd, estimated by Japanese media at 2700 people. He quoted the testimony of a survivor to illustrate the reality of a nuclear attack: "Around me were people whose eyeballs had popped out... Bodies were strewn about like stones." "Is it not this 'global citizen' perspective that will serve as the driving force behind stitching back together our fragmented world?" Suzuki asked, calling for a solution based on mutual understanding and solidarity. Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki notes the peace declaration, during the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Memorial ceremony at the Nagasaki Peace Park, on 9 August 2025. Nagasaki marked the 80th year after the bombing and thousands of people attended the ceremony to offer prayers for the victims. Photo: AFP/ Yomiuri Shimbun - Kazuki Wakasugi The US military is believed to have chosen Nagasaki as a target due to its significance as a major industrial and port city. The city's geographical features, including its hilly terrain, were also thought to concentrate the blast. The destruction photographed after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945, at either Nagasaki or Hiroshima. Photo: Public Domain - source University of Idaho Library Representatives from 95 countries and territories, including nuclear superpower the United States, and Israel - which neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weapons - attended the annual ceremony at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Park for the milestone year. Russia, which possesses the world's largest nuclear stockpile, was also represented. Daiji Kawanaka, a 14-year-old tourist from Osaka, echoed the mayor's sentiments. "I truly believe a tragedy like this must never be repeated," he told Reuters, saying the anniversary prompts conversations about peace even among his young peers. "We can only pledge to take the initiative ourselves in making a step toward peace." People place paper cranes at the Peace Park in Nagasaki on 8 August, 2025 ahead of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Photo: AFP/ Philip Fong Japan's leading organisation of A-bomb survivors, Nihon Hidankyo, won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for campaigning for a world without nuclear weapons. Survivors, known as "hibakusha", continue to suffer the effects from radiation and social discrimination. With their numbers falling below 100,000 for the first time this year, their stories fuel ongoing efforts to advocate for a nuclear-free world. Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, has stated its commitment to nuclear disarmament but is not a signatory or observer of the UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons. - Reuters
Scoop
5 hours ago
- Scoop
Ngāti Kahungunu Slams The Government's Decision To Push On With Marine Legislation
Ngāti Kahungunu, who have the country's second largest coastline from Paritū, north of the Māhia peninsula to Tūrakirae on the southern Wairarapa coast, have slammed the government's decision to push on with new legislation to make it harder for Māori to get customary marine title. Ngāti Kahungunu Chair, Bayden Barber, speaking from the World Expo in Osaka Japan says, 'We are a moana iwi. Our people have lived along our coast for centuries. Our ancestors had names like Tiakitai, Te Hapuku and Te Moananui because of the intimate relationship they had with the ocean. I am appalled by the Ministers' decision to push on with changes to the Takutai Moana legislation that make it harder for us to get customary title. Again, we see this government undermining the rights of Māori.' Earlier in the week, the Minister for Treaty Negotiations Paul Goldsmith, said that the government intended to pass the Marine and Coastal Area (MACA) Bill by the end of October, effectively ignoring a Supreme Court ruling saying that Māori do have customary marine and coastal rights and that these changes were not consistent with the intent of the Takutai Moana Bill passed in 2010. Barber adds, 'The legislation, as it currently stands, still sets a high bar for Māori to prove customary title, but at least we can test it through the Courts. These intended amendments to the Bill will make it near impossible for us win in court.' He continues, 'I have spoken to a few of the iwi leaders that are here in Osaka as part of the Te Aratini kaupapa. We need to send a strong collective message to this government, that this behaviour is unacceptable. It saddens me that we are still fighting the same fight 21 years on from the hīkoi for the Foreshore and Seabed.' Ngāti Kahungunu has a population of 95,741, the third largest iwi in Aotearoa and has 96 marae and over 400 hapū.
Scoop
6 hours ago
- Scoop
Minister Shane Jones Looks To Coal As Businesses Grapple With Gas Shortage
Resources Minister Shane Jones is seeking advice on where the electricity system can use more coal as businesses grapple with a gas shortage. Big industrial gas users met with Jones, who is also the Associate Minster for Energy, in Auckland on Friday to discuss the problems with securing an affordable supply. "From their perspective, the Crown needs to contemplate a triage system so that the gentailers don't drive businesses and manufacturers out of existence," Jones told Checkpoint. "The gentailers, due to the profiteering, always have more money to out bid everyone else." Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) figures show natural gas reserves are down 27 percent compared to last year. Jones said he has sought advice on where the electricity system can use more coal to reduce reliance on gas. "I am a politician that is pro-coal, I'm a politician that's pro-fossil fuels because I don't believe in these indulgences and luxury beliefs any longer," Jones said. "... Unless we pace ourselves on the decarbonisation journey, we are going to hallow out the manufacturing sector and no one is going to thank me, as a politician, for mass unemployment. There is so much fiction associated with the costs and period of time it is going to take for decarbonisation." It comes after a Taranaki fertiliser manufacturer revealed it was looking to shutdown production for up to four months because it cant get a guaranteed gas supply. The manufacturer, Ballance Agri-Nutrients, uses the gas to power its production and as a raw ingredient for fertilisers. It lost its supply to Contact Energy, which essentially outbid Ballance to secure the gas for electricity consumption. Ballance said it cant find a reliable replacement supply and prices quoted are up to 100 percent more than what the co-op is currently paying. It will keep its 120 plant workers on during the hiatus while it hunts for a solution. Jones believes there is good news on the way for short term supply of gas, after meeting with various gas extraction companies on Friday morning. He said they told him they were confident they could continue to excelerate the delivery of gas over the next nine to 12 months and beyond. "But lets not pretend that this isn't a very gruelling time for a lot of gas users," Jones said. The Business NZ Energy Council has long been warning a gas shortage could lead to business closures. Business NZ Energy Council executive director Tina Schirr said the biggest concern for gas-using businesses over the last couple of years was securing long-term contracts and the rise in gas prices. Schirr said as a result some companies could consider swapping to "dirtier substitutes" or otherwise shut down, which would result in job losses. "The long term problem is we need more energy in the system, and in this case, more gas. There were a few users in the room today that could switch to electricity for example, or bio-gas, but obviously the short term problem is the same - you've got to build infrastructure around it," Schirr said. She said the idea of prioritising certain businesses in the queue for gas contracts was floated, but that would only be an emergency short time solution. "It wouldn't be healthy or sustainable long term in the market." Schirr said programmes are being rolled out to potentially support businesses that can switch energy sources and there is talk about the government providing cheaper or interest free loans. She said there will be follow-up conversations on how to solve energy shortages long-term.
