By Shannon Pitman, Open Justice multimedia journalist, Whangārei of 
New Zealand Watermelon Distributors Limited's Paul Martin Harvey was ordered by the Environment Court to stop developments on the protected Kaimaumau-Motutangi Wetland, and to undertake remediation work. Photo: Supplied/ Northland Regional Council
- Northland's largest wetland has suffered damage after livestock entry, pesticide use, and illegal drains
- Kaimaumau-Motutangi Wetland is home to several endangered species including plants, birds, reptiles, swamp kauri and some of the most expensive timber in the world
- The Environment Court ordered New Zealand Watermelon Distributors Limited and Paul Martin Harvey to stop all work, restore water flow, implement revegetation, and report back on restoration efforts.
Northland's largest wetland has suffered significant damage to an area the size of 54 rugby fields after a landowner allowed livestock to enter, sprayed pesticides and illegally installed 600 metres of drains.
Now, the Environment Court has ordered New Zealand Watermelon Distributors Limited (NZWDL) and its director, Paul Martin Harvey, to undertake immediate remedial work on the Kaimaumau-Motutangi Wetland in Northland.
Located between Kaimaumau and the Houhora Heads, north of Kaitāia, the 1860 hectare wetland is classified as a high-priority conservation area by both Northland Regional Council (NRC) and the Department of Conservation.
The national treasure is home to several endangered species, including plants, birds, reptiles, swamp kauri and some of the most expensive timber in the world.
Over the years the wetland has fallen victim to large-scale fires the fire service said were accidentally caused by humans, as well as other damage that has come before the courts.
In 2014 Raymond Bird and Gary Beckham were fined $50,000 each for digging for timber within a Significant Natural Area part of Kaimaumau, without a resource consent.
They had diverted waterways and cleared vegetation for years in the protected wetland, defying regional council warnings and two Environment Court orders.
DOC also raised concerns in 2018 around the number of local avocado companies wanting to take water from the Aupōuri aquifer, which supplies water to the wetland.
DOC told the Environment Court the wetland would be at risk of drying out.
Despite those concerns, five avocado companies went ahead and began planting trees, taking 10 times the legal amount of water without resource consents. None of those organisations are believed to have been prosecuted.
Harvey's land
In the current case, the portion of wetland that sits within Harvey's 191ha property is around 55ha and is deemed a Significant Natural Area under the Resource Management Act (RMA).
In June 2023, regional council hydrologists working in the area noticed vegetation had been cleared in the wetland, launching an inspection.
Compliance officers inspected the site a year later and found not only had large amounts of vegetation been illegally cleared, but 600 metres of unauthorised drains had been installed.
Smoke billows from the Kaimaumau fires in 2022 that destroyed 3000 hectares of native vegetation. Photo: SUPPLIED
Abatement notices were issued to stop work immediately and a search warrant was executed in August 2024.
Experts found the majority of the 55ha wetland - equivalent to 54 rugby fields - had been subject to vegetation clearance, pesticide use and stock accessing areas creating pugging.
The regional council submitted to the court the property is subject to consents and no development is to take place unless an ecological management plan is submitted and approved, which Harvey did not do.
As a result, the regional council sought legal intervention to enforce rehabilitation efforts, ensuring the wetland can recover from the extensive damage inflicted by Harvey's activities.
DOC said the Kaimaumau-Motutangi wetland complex "contains a very high richness of threatened and rare plant species, including several species listed as 'nationally critical' and 'nationally endangered'. Photo: Supplied/ Department of Conservation
In its recent ruling, the Environment Court issued a series of enforcement orders mandating immediate remedial action.
Harvey must cease all further drainage activities, reinstate natural water flow, implement a native revegetation programme, remove chemical contaminants and regularly report to the regional council with restoration efforts.
Forest and Bird Northland conservation advocate Dean Baigent-Mercer told NZME the organisation was grateful to the regional council for taking action against landholders for environmental damage.
"The evidence in this case is significant and worse in the context that the Kaimaumau wetland burnt for many weeks in 2022 and 2023 and had previously been targeted in places for swamp kauri mining," he said.
Typical wetland vegetation at Kaimaumau. Photo: Supplied/ Department of Conservation
Baigent-Mercer said the case was an example of why freshwater policies were needed.
"Without them this kind of activity can happen without repercussions.
"Over 90 percent of wetlands nationally have been destroyed, and it is appalling to see the impacts on the Kaimaumau wetland over the past few years, with the drainage and land clearance being so deliberate," he said.
Baigent-Mercer said wetland waterways are "the kidney of the land" and called on the government to invest in practical wetlands protections to protect threatened species and carbon storage.
*This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
Photo: Open Justice
