The Auckland Council is facing a backlash as it continues to lobby for the investigation of a new port in the southern part of the region.
The council identified the Manuka Harbour and the Firth of Thames as potential spots for a new port, and it continues to lobby for the assessment of the two options despite the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy (UNISCS) working group’s insurance and environmental concerns.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said this week that the Treasury and the Ministry of Transport had told Cabinet that evidence in the UNISCS report was “not sufficiently clear for them to reach a view for a decision” and that alternative port options were “not adequately examined to justify the expenditure of over $10 billion.”
“As part of the government’s analysis this year, there needs to be an examination and cost benefit analysis of each of the alternative sites including the Manukau and Firth of Thames,” Goff said, as reported by RNZ. “It could be that the Manukau Harbour is less likely for the reasons given but the UNISCS Working Group seems to have given it and the Firth of Thames site only a cursory examination.”
Wayne Brown, head of UNISCS, criticised the council’s continued lobbying for an assessment of Manukau Harbour and Firth of Thames as their report found that Manukau has unfavourable entry conditions – pushing maritime insurers to decide that they “would not support any ongoing large container shipping through that harbour.”
“One phone call to the marine insurance industry and they won’t even think about insuring any boats coming in there. We’re looking at what is best for the upper North Island, not necessarily what is the best for Auckland,” he said.
