In early August, New Zealand’s Environment Court dismissed Maori claims to a historic section of land north of Auckland and allowed a major commercial sand-mining project to begin. The court cited inconsistency in evidence provided by Maori witnesses as the basis for its decision, which overturned the Rodney District Council's earlier ruling prohibiting the mining.
Criminal lawyer Barry Hart has been fighting since 1998 for rights to mine 30,000 cubic meters of sand annually to be used for construction, and the case has raised issues concerning Maori sacred lands. Historical records show that the Maori had a strong presence in the South Kaipara Peninsula area throughout the 1700s and 1800s, and it is suggested that there may have been burials in the vast sand dunes. In court, Maori witnesses and scholars claimed the area as a sacred burial ground, but the archaeological evidence presented to the court did not support the presence of graves.
Hart said a set of protocols would be drafted to specify what would happen should bones be discovered at the mining site. He noted that if bones were found, work would stop and the correct parties would be notified. It is unclear, however, whether the mining would resume following any discovery of human remains.
