Stick-to-it-ive-ness
Stick-to-it-ive-ness is the motto of awareness Consumer Advocate, Erin Brockovich. As an informal noun it means ‘unwavering pertinacity; perseverance’. Out at Haumoana, former Onga Onga resident Mark Lawrence is engaged in a wee bit of a skirmish with his local District Council and if I seem like I’m making light of events, I’m not, that’s not my intention. What I’m attempting to do however is bring some levity to an extremely complex issue.
Mark Lawrence
Observationally, Mark Lawrence displays the somewhat canny characteristics of a man with ‘stick-to-ive-ness’. A good thing too since Local Government wind sea activity outside his lounge room window is becoming relentless and I can feel the wind drop which usually means the wind sea is becoming a swell. Generally, said-swell generates waves that are not or hardly affected by the local wind at the same moment. They’ve been generated elsewhere, or some time ago. Worth a think about, that.
Brockovich says, “Often times we don’t think about or worry about or understand what is happening to another until it happens to us.” For my two cents worth, I think there’s a great deal of personal common decency couched in that statement.
Seawall Saga
Media coverage of the Mark Lawrence seawall saga has maintained an authoritarian focus on Local Government Policy enforcements (understandable to the degree that such focus may, in the future, translate to clearer more collaborative communications with their constituents), Government Agency back watching (wonders why they feel the need to) and a mind-plunging proliferation of referenced Council rules and regulations that make me think public drownings may indeed occur!
Managed Retreat from Coastal Hazards: Options for Implementation for Environment Waikato
Christopher Turbott of Andrew Stewart Ltd wrote an indepth report entitled “Managed Retreat from Coastal Hazards: Options for Implementation for Environment Waikato. In that report he wrote, “Communities within identified coastal hazard areas need to make decisions about how the hazard is to be managed. There are two broad alternatives for managing coastal hazards, the first alternative is to maintain the line of the shore in its current position. This requires management of the natural processes. The second alternative is for development to retreat from the shore. This requires management of existing development.”
The Local Government Act 2002
The Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) provides a general mandate for Local Government and sets functions and procedures. The overall purpose of Local Government is specified in Section 10 of the LGA. Coastal hazards and the consideration of managed retreat have some relevance to Haumoana because of the extent of private and community assets at-risk. Herein lies the complexity of this issue. An onion ring by any other name and enough to make a community weep.
I reiterate, “the purpose of Local Government in such an undertaking is firstly, to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of communities; and secondly to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of those communities, in the present and for the future”.
“There is little or no New Zealand research on the acceptability of retreat as an option, but it is likely to be opposed by property owners. Available evidence indicates that property owners are generally reluctant to relocate building landwards on existing properties. Actual abandonment of existing properties is likely to be firmly resisted. [sic] A ‘mexican stand-off’ as described by Mark Lawrence.
The Public perception of coastal hazard risk is dominated by personal experience, which is often of a relatively short-term nature in relation to the natural processes that change the shoreline and contribute to hazards. It is also qualified by the potential economic and lifestyle value of investment in coastal property.
Mokau Spit and Muriwai Beach
Mokau Spit is a current example of forced retreat within New Zealand while Muriwai Beach is possibly the only New Zealand example of the deliberate application of a Policy of Retreat. You should note though that this area contains relatively few private assets.” Like I said earlier, it’s a complex issue.
I stood on ‘the’ wall at Mark Lawrence’s Clifton Road residence a couple of months ago and as I looked down over the beach below, it occurred to me that as a member of the public I felt ‘as safe as houses’ it wasn’t going to fall on me or anyone else for that matter anytime soon. Mark Lawrence’s understanding or lack thereof for the need to have a Building Consent in the first instance should not, in this writer’s opinion define his actions as ‘knowingly’ illegal.
His wasn’t mal-intent to flagrantly disobey the law, his actions seemed much more base than that to me. He simply wanted to protect his family. How could you fault that intent? Some might, I don’t because I wouldn’t want what’s happened or happening to Mark Lawrence to happen to me and neither, I suspect would you.
