Whangārei mayor meets camp residents as eviction decision remains unresolved

Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper met people living at the former Old Boys’ Rugby Club grounds early on Thursday afternoon, 8 October, but said no decision had been made on pausing an eviction due that day. Ten people remained at the New Zealand site, with some telling RNZ they had nowhere else to go.

Residents were living in tents, makeshift shelters and a bus, down from a peak of about 50 earlier this year. RNZ reported that they were still waiting to learn whether the eviction order would be put on hold.

After NewsJaws reported that an MP expected a pause, the mayor’s visit brought a further discussion with residents but no confirmed reprieve. Couper said he would return to the council and speak with the agencies involved and council staff.

What Ken Couper said after meeting residents

Couper described the meeting as productive and praised those involved for taking a constructive approach. He said the council needed to address public safety while ensuring that people at the grounds could obtain help.

About 50 people had gathered at the hilltop site around 7am on Thursday in a peaceful show of support, RNZ reported. Northland-based Green MP Hūhana Lyndon also visited and urged the council to pause the eviction.

Residents describe barriers to finding housing

Resident Elliot Jackson told RNZ he had been homeless since his house burnt down two years earlier. He had spent much of that time staying with friends before moving into a tent at the grounds, where he had lived for five months.

Jackson said he was worried about the eviction and recalled council representatives previously accepting his presence there. That was his account of those conversations; it did not establish that the council had formally authorised him to remain.

Describing the tent, Jackson told RNZ: “It’s confining, it’s cold and damp, and there’s no locks on it.” He said he had injured his back getting in and out, and described difficulties reaching basic facilities from the camp.

The nearest tap was across Port Road, down a steep hill, Jackson said, while the nearest toilet was about half a kilometre away beside the Hātea River. The 59-year-old also said finding work and saving enough money to rebuild his home were difficult.

Jackson said his benefit was insufficient to rent a house himself and that owning the land where his house had stood made him ineligible for emergency housing. RNZ’s account did not independently establish that eligibility decision or the policy behind it.

Council cites safety risks at the Old Boys’ grounds

Whangārei District Council told RNZ that cumulative health, safety and operational risks at the former sportsground had become unmanageable and that the site needed to close. An earlier public notice separately records restrictions on access to the playing fields.

The council’s notice, published on 15 September, said the former Old Boys rugby grounds playing fields at Okara were temporarily closed to the public, including for dog access, until further notice because of multiple identified safety hazards.

That notice cites clause 10.1 of the Dog Control Bylaw 2024. It does not identify the individual hazards or explain the legal basis or enforcement arrangements for the separate October eviction. The playing-fields closure does not establish what would happen to residents on Thursday.

Emergency shelter proposal remains unconfirmed

A petition created on 4 October by an account named Jesus is lord barbershop Barbershop asks the council to halt the eviction and work with the community on Project Shelter 2026, a proposed emergency shelter pilot.

The petition proposes using an empty building or installing shelter pods at the Old Boys’ site. Those are the campaign’s requests: the petition does not establish council approval, funding, operating capacity or accommodation already delivered.

Lyndon said agencies were working to find homes, but many remaining residents had complex needs and the process would take time. She called for them to be treated with dignity, care and respect while seeking a pause.

At the time of RNZ’s Thursday report, a pause remained unconfirmed. The reporting did not establish an enforcement time or how many residents had been offered or placed in alternative accommodation. Couper’s promised discussions left those practical questions unresolved.