Kaipara
Status of project
Unknown.
Kaipara District Council involvement has ended, but community rumours about an incinerator to be sited near Topuni, outside of Kaiwaka continue.
Background to this project
Kaipara Mayor Jepson was the front man for a failed incinerator project in Meremere back in 2000. Now he is trying to sell the same toxic ideas to the Kaipara. Sustainable Kaipara, ZWN and Greenpeace all issued media statements.
Kaipara District Council instigation of a feasibility study of a waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerator passed as a KDC notice of motion on 26 April 2023. It includes Far North District Council, Whangārei District Council, Te Uri o Hau, Northland Inc and Auckland Council as potential partners.
Campaign updates
Chronological from most recent
On 29 May 2024, the Kaipara District Council announced formally that it was dumping the idea of a feasibility study on the establishment of a plant to incinerate rubbish and generate electricity in the district. At council’s May 29 meeting, it was agreed that chief executive Jason Marris would provide members with a brief report confirming that council staff would not be reporting back to council on its viability. Local democracy reporter Susan Botting rounded up the news coverage with, “Kaipara waste-to-energy plant investigation ends with no report” She noted that the Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s push for an incinerator in the region has not diminished.
On 22 May 2024, the Northern Advocate wrote: “Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown bins talk of city’s rubbish fuelling Kaipara plant” noting that, “An Auckland Council Official Information Act (OIA) request response to Reed confirmed Brown had discussed the proposed plant with Jepson. But it said Auckland Council had not entered into any negotiations with the Kaipara District Council or the plant’s proponents, neither was there any timeline for sending Auckland’s rubbish to Kaipara.”
On 15 May 2024, Radio NZ reported that “Doctors warn: Human health risks from proposed $730m Kaipara waste to energy plant” saying, “A group of Canterbury doctors opposed to waste-to-energy plants being built in New Zealand is warning of major potential human health risks if one goes ahead in Kaipara, Northland.”
On 18 July 2023, South Island Resource Recovery Ltd (aka “SIRRL” – the company involved in the Waimate incinerator) gave a closed-door presentation to Kaipara District Council, members of the Far North District Council and Whangarei District (including the mayors). We have sent a LGOIMA request to KDC about this meeting. Here’s what we got>> a copy the company’s Presentation >> the Councils’ Agenda and a photo image of the Northland Regional Council record of the meeting.
A 17 April 2024 article in the Local Matters (Mahurangi) newspaper says, “Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson believes a waste-to-energy plant in Kaipara would be “an excellent candidate” for the coalition government’s fast-tracking initiative, and has pledged to use every opportunity to promote it.” This is despite there being no support from any other council for his plans.
A follow up article of 4 April 2024, “Government will need to make Kaipara waste to energy plant decisions: Mayor” shows that the Mayor lied when he said he had the support of the Mayors of Northland.
On 10 March 2024, Whangārei’s Northern Advocate newspaper featured a story, “$730m Kaipara waste-to-energy plant for Auckland’s rubbish moves closer” in which Kaipara mayor Craig Jepson, who is a former incinerator spokesman, claimed that “all the parts are coming together.” He wants fast track approval for the largest incinerator proposal in the country to burn 730,000 tonnes of waste. He claims it could be up and running by 2028.