Auckland Invasive Weeds Group

16/08/2026

Yesterday AIWG presented to the Deliberative Democracy w**ds workshop held by Auckland Council.

Carla (EcoMatters) presented the AIWG position, then joined Phil (Urban Ark), Sharleen (Pest Free South Auckland) and Keith (Pest Free Kaipatiki) talking with the 40 panellists in breakout sessions.

The panelists were a great cross-section of the community who were thinking deeply about w**d control issues. They asked some perceptive questions of Council staff.

One item of interest was about whether Council could recover its costs in pursuing those negligent landowners who failed to meet the requirements of the RPMP (Regional Pest Management Plan). Dr Bassett for Council explained how if Council undertook work where a landowner did not comply they could bill the owner for the costs of contractor work. But they couldn't recover the administrative costs.

This is a significant cost for Council and a deterrent for Council to pursue compliance action. It needs to be fixed.

It sounds as though AIWG members should start lobbying MPs to encourage more realistic penalties for large landbankers and other negligent landowners.

Some political parties are pushing for a low level of penalities for RPMP breaches. This is arguably reasonable for a retired couple who are no longer able to maintain their backyard.

But for large landowners, it should not be cheaper to pay a fine than to observe one's obligations under good neighbour rules. And ratepayers who are doing their bit should not have to pay the costs of following up negligence.

We need our politicians to get real about the need to stem the tsunami of w**ds across the region.

Volunteers can do a lot - but it is demoralising for them to help retirees and disabled residents, while large landowners just let "w**d factories" flourish while awaiting a capital gain.

We need "carrots" to engage and educate communities, but "sticks" to encourage compliance by the the "w**d factory" owners.

We hope that AIWG submissions will contribute to a more effective RPMP.

And we look forward to more community engagement and education as see in the Pest Free South Auckland w**d competitions.

For more information, follow the AIWG forum - https://www.facebook.com/groups/aiwgforum

07/08/2026

Have you seen this article about the impact of "Regulatory relief" on your rates bill? and your local environment?

https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/08/04/regulatory-relief-will-turn-planning-into-a-bureaucratic-and-litigious-nightmare/

Auckland Council alone will face 24,000 property assessments under new rules forcing compensation for ecological protections.

The implications for bush reserves surrounded by SEAs (Significant Ecological Areas) will be significant.

As an example, the popular Le Roys Bush is a narrow strip of beautiful native bush protected since 1948 since the local Forest and Bird ran a campaign to buy Edward Le Roys' property. It has since been extended by donations and bequests.

But a lot of the beauty and pleasure of walking from Little Shoal Bay up to Highbury relies on the bush clad slopes in private ownership. Prior to the super city in 2010, these slopes were protected under various zonings recognizing not only their ecological value but also their importance in managing water quality, land stabilty and erosion.

Under the new unitary plan, these comprehensive zonings were "simplified" into SEA layers removing mention of the other benefits.
Everyone who had bought their property knew that the bush was protected under planning rules. But as the SEA was introduced a Beach Haven resident held a public meeting concerned that their rights were infringed by the SEA. A speaker from Friends of Le Roys Bush pointed out that the SEA would protect the bush clad views of local residents from the risk that a developer might buy up a property and strip the land in their outlook of the bush cover.

SEA protection is a win-win for home owners and people who enjoy the visual and ecological benefits of bush areas on both public and private land.

Does the Coalition Government's regulatory relief put our ecology and your views and rates bill at risk?

Or is this the sort of see-saw legislation that should dropped before the election? and replaced by a more consensus long-term approach to managing our natural heritage in a more community minded approach without the risk of massive admin and legal costs?

Please ask your local MP.

Send a message to learn more

01/08/2026

Nigel from Old Mans Beard Free Wellington has written:
"Subject: Asthma w**d

Have you come across Parietaria judaica / pellitory of the wall / asthma w**d in Auckland?

Looking at GBIF, it seems to be Wellington focused. It's taking over here. Apparently 1 sqm. can produce 250,000 seeds.

Interesting to see the rules in Sydney:
"Under the newly amended Noxious W**ds Act 1993, Asthma W**d is a declared Class 4 noxious w**d where small infestations on privately owned land, all plants must be removed/destroyed. For large infestations, the spatial extent must be reduced by a minimum of 25% annually."
(https://sydneyw**ds.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Asthma-W**d.pdf)

I wonder how that strategy is working for them?"

There's a few cases reported in iNaturalist in Auckland.

But the Sydney approach to controlling a noxious w**d species on private land is an approach worth considerting in Auckland's next RPMP: "... on privately owned land, all plants must be removed/destroyed. For large infestations, the spatial extent must be reduced by a minimum of 25% annually."

Send a message to learn more

18/07/2026

Kia ora to w**ding volunteers and groups across Auckland

We have been working hard since mid last year to seek a better strategy to tackle Auckland’s invasive w**ds problems.

As you may be aware Auckland Council does not have the budget to sustain its present level of invasive w**d control and is looking to cut back existing RPMP controls.

In recent weeks, we learnt that Council is planning a community consultation panel to get consensus from community representatives. Details are in the item below.

We are very grateful to Council for listening to our concerns and for inviting us to take part in this panel process.

Sorry for the short notice but we invite you to provide your input as to whether we are on the right track.

We have decided to enable ongoing updates and consultation by setting up a private Facebook group.

If you’d like to be part of finding new ways to address the sinking budget for w**d control, please:
Join our: AIWG -Discussion forum on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1792750278743565)

* Provide your feedback to AIWG to help us improve our proposals to Council

* Volunteer to come to the events run by Council

* Offer your help (on days it’s too wet to w**d)

If you are not a Facebook user, please email us at AucklandInvasiveW**[email protected] and we’ll do our best to keep you posted on what’s going on.

Many thanks Bob, Carla and Keith

Further details are in this document AIWG - current steps in the Invasive W**ds Campaign (https://docs.google.com/.../1qUDdnMpvt5OO.../edit...) See less

19/05/2026

We're keen to talk with w**d groups across the Auckland region about what their concerns and aspirations are for improved w**d control as we approach the next Regional Pest Management Plan and the next round of Eco-Contracts.

We are contacting groups as time permits - but if we haven't reached out to you yet, please email us at AucklandInvasiveW**[email protected]

We'd really value your experience, expertise and vision as we work with official agencies to improve effective outcomes and collaboration between official agencies and community groups and volunteers.

17/04/2026

The recording of the Council workshop on the RPMP is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAN156ToLnc

We suggest you listen to council manager Imogen Bassett's introduction prior to the discussion of cats and golden clams.

The presentation and discussion on w**ds management start at about 52m and take up the remaining 40 minutes.

There is reference to the AIWG's submissions to Council and council manager Sam Hill refers to the meetings she has had with AIWG.

However there is still a focus on what Council can and can't do within the existing framework. If I understood the discussion correctly, Council is saying that to avoid the reduction of the 500m scope of the current RPMP buffer zones, would require a budget ot $5m. This is hard to understand. It would be useful to see the information behind this assessment.

While Council says that the w**d control spend by local boards is taken into account in estimating the budget for the RPMP plans, it's not clear how this is done. And there was no mention of the estimated value of volunteer work and their community engagement.

An interesting point raised by one councillor was about keeping the door open for increased fine levels to be introduced under the revised Biosecurity Act and for any revenue from these fines to be applied to w**d control.

The focus of the discussion was on protecting native biodiversity in high value reserves; there was limited reference to the general issues of the nuisance to neighbours and local reserves from "w**d factories" such as abandoned orchards or absentee landlords.

There was also acknowledgement of the fact that paricularly in rural land Council and government are the major offenders in having woolly nightshade, MP etc on pubilc land. And that it's hard to tell land owners to clean up their property if official agencies aren't managing theirs.

There's a trap here which needs to be avoided. If Council takes the approach that it will only address 100m round a small number of reserves with high ecological value, then essentially NOTHING will get done in the long term.

It would be better to start with the proposition of what can be done to work progressively towards a high level of w**d control to protect our ecology, agriculture, horticulture and private land.

Then to develop a plan that works progressively towards those goals on a step wise basis.

If you have the time and interest that you could contribute to the work of the AIWG as we discuss these issues with Council, please get in touch.

Warning: don't rely on the transcript of the conversation - it regularly mis-spells not only te reo words but also words like "w**ds".

15/04/2026

Auckland Council has released its new AI app https://ask.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/

As yet it only answers questions about a small range of topics.

If you want to report a w**d on council land, it still directs you to the old Report a Problem system https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/en/report-problem/report-a-problem.html

However, if asked "How do I report moth plant on Auckland Council land", Copilot Search responded with this:
To report moth plant on Auckland Council land, you can follow these steps:
Contact Auckland Council: Reach out to Auckland Council at [email protected] to report the moth plant.

Provide Details: Include as much detail as possible about the moth plant, such as its location and any other relevant information

Upload a Picture: If possible, upload a picture of the moth plant for identification purposes.

Response Time: Expect a response from Auckland Council within five working days.

By reporting the moth plant, you contribute to the management and control of this invasive species in Auckland. Remember to follow any additional instructions provided by Auckland Council for the best outcome.

Find out how you can help care for your community by reporting a problem to us.

14/04/2026

The Auckland Council Policy, Planning and Development Committee is holding a workshop at 1.30pm tomorrow (Wednesday 15) to receive a presentation on aspects of the next RPMP (Regional Pest Management Plan) for 2020 to 2030.

While many members of the public were hoping that the next RPMP would provide improved controls for invasive w**ds, the officer recommendations propose a reduction from the current RPMP.

AIWG has written to Councillor Richard Hills, John Gillon, Josephine Bartley and other councillors and officers asking that no decision is taken on the recommendation at this stage.

Instead, we are asking that a regional hui is held to consult with community groups and local boards to seek a new paradigm to improve collaboration between the Council and the various communities with an interest in improved w**d control.

If you'd like to work with AIWG to promote new and improved processes, please email us at AucklandInvasiveW**[email protected]

The meeting will be public and on Teams:
https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/41822885698106?p=dLgN5IROaw6gKcFkmM

However, it doesn't sound like there will be the opportunity for members of the public to speak.

The briefing paper can be found here: https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12632

It presents the same approach as in 2019. But we believe new thinking is needed.

AIWG is hoping to see a new innovative approach that will better engage and support schools, communities, property owners/occupants and volunteers to help control the w**d invasion.

Council can't do it alone. They need to address community concerns with an integrated strategy.

They need to talk with and listen to STAMP, AIWG and other local groups to focus a new w**d management energy.

By the way, there are other parts of the RPMP working paper which we support. It's the w**ds recommendation that lacks a forward looking approach.

12/04/2026

We are advised that in preparation for the Regional Pest Management Plan 2030-2040, a workshop is being held on 15 April seeking elected members'
direction on key policy options for the RPMP.

See: https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12632

An overview can be found at https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/Meeting/12632/78774?type=2&docId=41737 which explains that the
Biosecurity Act also requires council to be satisfied that funding exists to implement the RPMP.

Paper "RPMP 2030-2040 – BP3: pest plant management and land occupier obligations " can be found at https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/Meeting/12632/78774?type=2&docId=41740 ( a copy of the PDF can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gRr1O2RtUchdU5t5pSsz-MttfEfbLz-t/view?usp=sharing )

The proposals in this document recommend reducing the RPMP buffer zones.

AIWG had met with council officers to initiate discussions on a new paradigm for collaboration between volunteers, community groups, Council and other agencies.

We are concerned that the proposals in this discussion paper don't provide suffiicient strategies to capitalise on the incredible work being done by STAMP volunteers and many w**ding groups across the region.

We hope that Councillors will encourage the exploration of improved strategies.

If you'd like to help prepare a response to these proposals, please write to us at AucklandInvasiveW**[email protected]

02/03/2026

We have just sent out invitations to the AIWG discussion at 7pm tomorrow (Wednesday 4 March) to prepare for the meeting with NZTA.

If you are keen to contribute but haven't received an invite and a copy of the email, please email AucklandInvasiveW**[email protected]

Send a message to learn more