The Onehunga Enhancement Society TOES

21/05/2026

TOES Concerned About Future Waste Disposal Options for Auckland

The Onehunga Enhancement Society (TOES) is deeply concerned by reports that Auckland will soon need a replacement solution for the disposal of biosolids from the Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant once the current Puketutu Island operation reaches capacity around 2035.

Suggestions that future options may include trucking waste long distances through Auckland suburbs to landfill sites, or constructing a large-scale incinerator near urban communities, raise significant environmental, health, traffic and quality-of-life concerns for residents of Onehunga and surrounding areas.

The prospect of thousands of truck movements transporting biosolids through local roads over coming decades is not something our communities should simply accept as inevitable. Increased heavy traffic brings noise, congestion, odour risks, road damage and the potential for accidental spills through densely populated neighbourhoods.

Likewise, TOES strongly opposes the possibility of incineration facilities operating near residential communities. Even with modern technology, incineration creates ongoing concerns regarding air pollution, emissions, ash disposal, public health impacts and significant operational costs. Once established, such facilities also create pressure to maintain waste streams simply to justify their operation.

TOES believes Auckland should instead seriously investigate a long-term deep-sea outfall solution extending into the Tasman Sea beyond the sensitive Manukau Harbour environment. This would involve combining treated liquid waste and processed biosolids into a controlled slurry discharged through a properly engineered offshore diffuser system in deep ocean conditions.

Deep-sea outfall systems are already used internationally and, when correctly designed, monitored and managed, can provide a lower overall environmental footprint than ongoing land disposal or incineration. While the initial infrastructure investment may be substantial, the long-term operational savings from avoiding continual trucking, landfill development and incinerator fuel costs could make such a system more economically sustainable over time.

Importantly, this option would also avoid creating new landfill sites that could potentially generate long-term contamination risks, leachate management issues and environmental liabilities for future generations.

The intent of the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 is to reduce environmental harm from waste generation and disposal. TOES believes this requires Auckland to carefully consider whether new landfill or incineration solutions are truly sustainable long-term options.

TOES also believes the principles of the Resource Management Act 1991 and Climate Change Response Act 2002 should guide future decision-making. These Acts place emphasis on sustainable environmental management, reducing adverse environmental effects, and considering the long-term wellbeing of future generations.

Rather than selecting the cheapest short-term solution, Auckland must invest in infrastructure that minimises long-term environmental damage, protects public health, and aligns with the aspirations of New Zealand’s environmental legislation for a more sustainable future.

For more see article https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/auckland/puketutu-island-to-close-watercare-eyes-new-landfill-or-incinerator-for-auckland-s-waste/

Debbie Burrows Greg Fleming MP Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Mayor Wayne Brown Jon Turner Nicola Grigg MP Stop Polluting the Manukau Harbour Society Simon Watts MP for North Shore Mangere Bridge City Vision Puketāpapa

Aucklanders are being asked to have an awkward but necessary conversation about a new landfill or incinerator to take care of their “business”.

14/01/2026

Onehunga railway line will be back in operation on Monday, January 19 after school holiday maintenance work, but other areas of the network are still off, and future shutdown dates should be noted for regular train travellers. See article for more details.

While passengers in Wellington got back on track yesterday, public transport users in the supercity will wait longer as KiwiRail works continue.

09/01/2026

Sharing an article from Friends of the Manukau Harbour, as this is an issue that Onehunga and suburbs surrounding the Manukau Harbour should be concerned about.

Why officials ran a faeces-focused fun day out to explain to locals about the problems dealing with the supercity’s “biosolids”

29/11/2025

This afternoon, some lucky onlookers in Onehunga were treated to a vibrant surprise at Tin Tacks Reserve — an impromptu performance of drums, colour, and high-energy dance.

Tribu Paghidaet, a group of performers from the Philippines’ famous Dinagyang Festival, brought the reserve to life with traditional dance, powerful rhythms, and spectacular costumes. Tin Tacks Reserve sits right beside Momma Fe Cantina Café, whose owner helped sponsor today’s event — a fitting backdrop for such a lively cultural showcase.

The troupe is currently in Aotearoa as part of a cultural exchange with Ruapōtaka Marae in Glen Innes and delighted the crowd with a taste of their world-class festival performances.

The Dinagyang Festival, held each January in Iloilo City, is the Philippines’ largest religious and cultural celebration. It honours Santo Niño, the Holy Child, and commemorates the historic pact between Malay settlers and the Indigenous people of Panay. The festival typically features more than 100 drummers accompanying the dancers — today’s show offered a small but exciting glimpse of that energy.

If you missed the performance, you can still catch Tribu Paghidaet live at the Auckland Santa Parade on Queen Street tomorrow. Don’t miss the chance to see them in action!

This afternoon, some lucky onlookers in Onehunga were treated to a vibrant surprise at Tin Tacks Reserve — an impromptu performance of drums, colour, and hig...

27/11/2025

East West Link a chat with Waka Kotahi NZTA, Greg Fleming MP and Debbie Burrows

With thanks to Greg Flemming and Debbie Burrows, a meeting was held on Wednesday evening at the Onehunga Community House to give Waka Kotahi NZTA an early opportunity to present to the community and take questions about the East West Link.

Because the project is still in its early stages, the presentation was light on detail and not yet at a point for full public consultation. NZTA outlined that the project will be delivered in three stages:
Stage 1 focuses on the Onehunga Harbour Road end of the route;
Stage 2 on the Penrose end; and
Stage 3 on connecting these two areas via the Neilson Street corridor.

Stage 1, which will proceed first, proposes adding an additional lane along Onehunga Harbour Road to deliver an estimated travel-time saving of 3.2 minutes for roughly 40,000 vehicles per day. The distance over which this time saving applies was not specified, although one would hope it relates to Onehunga Harbour Road itself.

Attendees noted that the detail will be crucial—faster-moving, higher-volume traffic could raise safety concerns for residents needing to merge onto the road, as well as for the Sea Scouts who regularly cross it to access Gloucester Park.

Questions were also raised about environmental mitigation in this area, given the ongoing aspiration to restore Onehunga’s foreshore between the award-winning Taumanu Reserve and the Port of Onehunga. Whether NZTA will take on environmental restoration as part of the project remains to be seen.

Some attendees expressed disappointment that Stage 3 moves away from the foreshore and onto Neilson Street, arguing that this may forgo opportunities for coastal-edge improvements similar to those achieved at Taumanu Reserve. Others were concerned that adding traffic to the already congested Neilson Street could worsen conditions. NZTA partially addressed this by noting that new motorway links are intended to allow trucks to move more directly into and out of the area, reducing some existing bottlenecks. However, it is still too early in the process to see detailed designs.

A question was raised about integration with rail. It was suggested that extending rail into Onehunga is not preferred, and that if future rail expansion occurs it should follow the existing state highway corridor. The East West Link will need to make provision for this, though it is unclear whether this is currently on NZTA’s agenda. The removal of the Neilson Street Bridge during the first iteration of the project eliminated the option of extending rail from Onehunga to the Port and then along the seaward side of SH20 to New Lynn and beyond. Should such future-proofing now be reconsidered? Debbie Burrows noted that the local board is progressing plans for a walking and cycling route along the old rail corridor, avoiding the need for cyclists to use the busy Onehunga Harbour Road.

One member of the public asked whether consideration had been given to incentivising businesses to relocate out of the area, thereby reducing truck movements and freeing up local roads. A business owner attending the meeting said he was already moving part of his operation elsewhere. Given that the project could take up to ten years to deliver—or may not proceed at all if a future government cancels it, as occurred previously—this may be a realistic option for businesses to consider. Would investing in incentives for relocation be a better use of public funds than building new roads, where such action would remove the need for freight movements between areas such as East Tamaki and Onehunga while considerably lowering carbon emissions. Perhaps greener alternatives should be explored?

It was made clear that this project is still very much in the early stages. Consenting will not get underway until late 2026 or early 2027, so there is still plenty of time to give your input. This was expressed with strong views about consultation, emphasising the need to be involved early rather than being presented with a near-final proposal. Several attendees suggested that NZTA establish a community panel or stakeholder group to work collaboratively on solutions, rather than leaving concerns to be fought out through formal processes later. Greg responded positively and encouraged anyone wishing to be included in East West Link communications to email him and join the distribution list. Debbie backed this up saying we need something to solve Onehunga’s traffic congestion, suggesting people should look for positive suggestions to help the project succeed.

We encourage you to do this, get on Greg’s list and share your views and register with NZTA to keep informed (see photo). Greg can be emailed at [email protected] .

26/11/2025

Auckland Transport contractors have been working at the entrance to Park Gardens off Quadrant Road for the past week or so, installing a raised pedestrian crossing that some residents may view as unnecessary at this location. The work has required temporary traffic lights, fencing, and cones along Quadrant Road, and has led to a few issues. A school bus heading to the swimming pools ran over multiple cones and damaged a mobile traffic light, and two cars collided—fortunately at low speed with no injuries.

It appears that the timing of the works did not take into account Onehunga’s Christmas in the Park event scheduled for this Friday. After being made aware of the clash, contractors spent the past two days backfilling the work area and laying temporary asphalt. All fencing, cones, and traffic lights must be removed and parking spaces restored so the Christmas event can proceed without disruption.

Contractors will likely return on Monday to reinstall traffic management and reopen the worksite, digging up the road again to continue construction. The project was originally expected to be completed before Christmas, but this interruption may push the finish date into mid-January. The additional cost to ratepayers is unclear.

Our sympathy goes out to the workers—having to undo and redo the same work must be incredibly demoralising.

Photo of workers following a drop and levelling of aggregate to back fill the hole in the road.