Concerned residents contacted Chair Greg Presland for help in relation to an illegal dumpsite (for contaminated demolition and development waste) in the Waitākere Ranges heritage area. There was a minimal response from Mr Presland.

Another affected resident contacted Mr Presland for help in relation to another illegal dumpsite in the Waitākere Ranges heritage area run by the Mouldens, and commented after the experience that Mr Presland was “absolutely useless”.

A concerned resident asked Mr Presland for help in his capacity as a Citizens Advice Bureau lawyer regarding Yiming Chen’s Glen Eden development site. The resident walked away from the meeting with the feeling that Mr Presland had not listened to their concerns at all. They also commented that Mr Presland was of “no help whatsoever.” During the meeting, Mr Presland said that he would contact someone at Council and email the resident their response, but the resident never heard from him again. The resident tried to follow up via email with Mr Presland months afterwards, asking for an update after he had promised to look into the matter for them, but once again, got no response.

Concerned residents contacted Mayor Wayne Brown for help in relation to an illegal dumpsite (for contaminated demolition and development waste) in the Waitākere Ranges heritage area. The Mayor’s office acknowledged receipt and stated that he would be in touch. That was the last residents heard from him.

Shane Henderson, Waitākere Ward Councillor

Several concerned residents have contacted Councillor Shane Henderson for help in relation to an illegal dumpsite (for contaminated demolition and development waste) in the Waitākere Ranges heritage area. There has been no response from Councillor Shane Henderson to any of the requests for help.

Ken Turner, Waitākere Ward Councillor

A concerned resident contacted Councillor Ken Turner for help in relation to an illegal dumpsite (for contaminated demolition and development waste) in the Waitākere Ranges heritage area. Councillor Turner responded but only because he had mixed up the resident’s query with another person’s query. When the resident outlined the issue to Councillor Turner, he said that he was just about to go on holiday and this is the last the resident heard from him.

BNZ greenwashing

Friends of Swanson Foothills and concerned Glen Eden residents filed a formal complaint to Rebekah Cain (BNZ’s Chief Sustainability Officer) regarding BNZ’s decision to fund Yiming Chen’s Glen Eden site. Mr Chen has committed environmental and community crimes at his Glen Eden development site, Unsworth Heights development site, and his illegal dumpsite in the Waitākere Ranges heritage area. These crimes are clearly in breach of BNZ’s stated commitment to its twin sustainability pillars of “kaitiakitanga (care for the natural world), and manaakitanga (caring for people and communities)”.

BNZ appears to have fobbed Friends of Swanson Foothills off to a faceless “BNZ Customer Resolution”, who gave us an anonymous response stating that “your complaint does not relate to a product or service that is provided to you by the Bank”, and advising that it would not make any further comment.