Auckland Council rejects shooting club claims

The following can be attributed to Penny Pirrit, Director Regulatory Services:

Auckland Council’s decision that the Auckland Shooting Club’s activities require a discharge consent is based on an assessment of the applicant’s particular circumstances, including the concentration of shooting activities in a specific area over a long time and the risk of contamination from lead discharge.

The decision does not mean that discharge consents are now required for everyday activities such as pest shooting, hunting, camping or painting or washing your house, as stated by the Auckland Shooting Club.

If these activities result in a discharge of contaminants that is not expressly permitted under the Unitary Plan, technically a resource consent is required. However, these activities are not comparable to the Auckland Shooting Club’s activities and either result in no contaminant discharge or discharge of contaminants at such a minute level that the council would not investigate or take enforcement action.

The council is required to act reasonably and consider the public interest when exercising is enforcement powers. The public can continue to undertake these sorts of everyday activities without concern that they may face enforcement action from the council.

ENDS

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