Water verdict looms, avocados boom

• Author: Nita Blake-Persen
• Published date: 10 August 2021
• Publication title: Northland Age, The

An application to take billions of litres from Te Aupouri aquifer, which sits right at the top of the country, is currently being considered by independent commissioners.

A decision is expected this month. Though there has been opposition from the Department of Conservation and many in the community, those wanting the water say the environment is their primary concern too.

In recent years the view from State Highway 1 north of Kaitaia has changed extensively. Former paddocks are now covered with bright windbreaks protecting tens of thousands of avocado trees, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Ian Broadhurst knows a lot about the conversion. He has been growing avocados in the Far North for more than 30 years, and is the manager at Mapua Orchard, New Zealand’s biggest grower with about 100,000 trees.

He said the area had been transformed in the past four years, as hundreds of hectares of avocado orchards have been planted.

“I would say that of that 500 hectares, 450ha of that was ex-dairy farm, so definitely dairying has been in the decline and horticulture has picked that up,” he told Checkpoint.

“I heard the other day, I think there were 30 fishing boats that used to work out of Pukenui, out of Houhora Harbour, there’s two now. So there’s been big changes. Horticulture is the big winner in all of this.”

That conversion has seen huge money pumped into avocados.

“Of the 500ha, the average price for land was about $25,000 per hectare. “The way we grow avocados now, it’s probably $100,000 per hectare investment in terms of planting and establishing and putting all the infrastructure in. It would easily be a $50 million investment.”

And more people want in on the action. An application by 24 landowners to take 6.2 million cubic metres of water each year is being considered by independent commissioners on behalf of the Northland Regional Council.

That water will come from the Aupouri aquifer, an ancient water source that sits under the peninsula.

Though not all applicants want the water for avocados, the majority do. There’s plenty of concern about what is at stake.

“If you talk to people you will hear stories… people who have lived in these areas for a long time — ‘there used to be water there, now there isn’t, a bore has dried up, I’ve never seen this in my lifetime’ — and I’ve talked to a lot of local people,” Karyn Nikora Kerr told Checkpoint.

She lives near Ngataki, where avocado growth has been massive.

“I’ve talked to people that have been working in...