No Sand Mining Bream Bay protest banner hangs at Ruakaka Beach. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
A 14,000-signature petition against a proposed fast-tracked sand mining operation off Northland's Bream Bay is due to be handed over at Parliament on Wednesday.
The petition will be presented by Tawera Nikau, a former rugby league player now co-chair of the Endangered Species Foundation, and accepted by Northland-based Green Party list MP Hūhana Lyndon.
It will be followed by an on-water protest at the proposed dredging site in just over a week, on 16 March.
People spell out the words Say No! on Ruakaka Beach. Photo: Supplied
The proposal, by McCallum Brothers Ltd, is one of 149 around the country on the government's list of projects invited to apply for fast-tracked consenting instead of having to go through the drawn-out RMA process.
Natalie Jessup, general manager of the Endangered Species Foundation, said her organisation initially became involved when the company was mining for sand off Mangawhai and Pakiri.
The tara iti or fairy tern is New Zealand's most endangered bird. Photo: Supplied / Darren Markin
The area was home to New Zealand's rarest bird, the tara iti or fairy tern.
"Then when we saw they were proposing to mine further up the coast at Bream Bay, that was a huge red flag for us.
"Not only does the tara iti nest there as well in Waipū Cove, endangered hawksbill turtles have been spotted in the area and the local scallop beds are in recovery," she said.
Hawksbill sea turtle Photo: World Wildlife Fund
Jessup said the signatures were from online petitions organised by the foundation and on the ActionStation platform, as well as on paper collected by community members in Bream Bay.
The foundation started the petition to give mana whenua and the local community a voice, she said.
"Because obviously there's no public consultation in the fast-track process ... We want to draw attention to the lack of democracy and give a platform for community voices to be heard."
Jessup said there were alternatives to marine sand that would help preserve sustainable fisheries and ecotourism while providing real economic growth and jobs.
Langs Beach, Bream Bay. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Meanwhile, another group, Stop Sand Mining in Bream Bay Harbour, is planning an on-water protest on 16 March.
Organiser Daniel Hunt hoped more than a hundred vessels would take part in the Great Boat Protest 2025, weather permitting, but he said he would be happy with any number.
So far boaties had indicated they would travel from as far away as Thames, Auckland and Tūtūkākā.
Hunt said the plan was to assemble in the proposed sand-dredging area between noon and 1pm.
"It's almost a form of public feedback because that's been removed from us through the fast-track legislation," he said.
The McCallum Brothers proposal involves dredging a total of 9 million cubic metres of marine sand over 35 years.
The dredging site is almost 5km offshore, which is outside the "depth of closure" - the point beyond which it is thought sand does not wash in and out of Bream Bay's beaches.
The company has previously said Auckland had an acute shortage of locally sourced sand, with concrete plants twice running out of sand in 2024.
The company said technical reports had not identified any significant effects caused by the proposal - and when minor effects had been found, measures had been taken to reduce them further still.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
