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A crayfish lurks between rocks. Debate is intensifying over proposed quota increases and their impact on local marine life in the Hauraki Gulf. Photo / Jasus Edwards / CC

Community News

Local Board Sends Crayfish Crackdown Plan to Parliament

Great Barrier’s push for tougher crayfish rules has taken its next step, with the Aotea Local Board and Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust formally submitting a legislative proposal to Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones. The proposal, sent earlier…

Community News

Protesters to Challenge Loopholes in Government’s New Marine Protection Act This Weekend

This Saturday the first One Ocean Protest will take place against the new Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Act, which came into force last weekend. The Act restricts recreational fishing in twelve high-protection areas across the Gulf but…

Community News

Mulberry Grove School Opens New Innovation and Creativity Space

Mulberry Grove School has officially opened its new technology, art and science space, Rangiarua – Te Whare Auaha (The House of Innovation and Creativity). The building sits along the shoreline beside the recently refurbished basketball court, giving the school a…

“Taking in the view: a retreat attendee pauses on the Barrier, soaking up the island’s off-grid inspiration.”

Tech - Aotea Green

Icehouse Ventures Returns to Aotea

Icehouse Ventures is back on Great Barrier Island this weekend for its annual “No Barriers” retreat, bringing a small group of founders and tech innovators to the island. The visit is a boost for the community, supporting accommodation providers, eateries…

The newly sworn-in Great Barrier Local Board, from left: Nikki Watts, Christopher Ollivier, Neil Sanderson, Izzy Fordham and Ryan Daly, following Thursday’s pōhiri at the Claris Conference Centre.

Community News

Roading, Rubbish? Residents Invited to Shape Island Priorities for Next Three Years

Great Barrier Island’s newly sworn-in local board has begun early work on its three-year plan, and residents are being asked to give feedback on what the island should prioritise. The consultation is the first major task for the incoming board,…

Nathan Boulter appearing at the Auckland District Court. Photo / NZME

Aotea Green

Convicted Barrier kidnapper admits killing Christchurch woman

A man once jailed for kidnapping a woman on Great Barrier Island has now pleaded guilty to murdering a Christchurch woman. Nathan Boulter, 36, appeared in the High Court at Christchurch this morning flanked by security guards as he admitted…

Ecology - Aotea Green

Convoy of fishers protests new Hauraki Gulf restrictions

A convoy of boats will travel across Auckland on November 22 in protest of the new Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Act, which came into force last weekend. The Act restricts recreational fishing in 12 high-protection areas of the…

Community News

Aotea Iwi Open Major Exhibition on Outer Hauraki Gulf

Members of Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea travelled to Tāmaki Makaurau this week to proudly mark the opening of the immersive exhibition, ‘Ngā Huhua: Abundance’, at the New Zealand Maritime Museum. The special opening event took place on Thursday evening,…

The RNZYS property at Bon Accord Harbour, Kawau Island — including the historic Lidgard House (left) — is set to be sold, despite opposition from some members.

Tech - Aotea Green

Kawau Island Sale Going Ahead, Says RNZYS

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has rejected a push by dissenting members to overturn its decision to sell prime waterfront property at Kawau Island, asserting the move is constitutionally out of their hands. In correspondence seen by Barrier Times,…

Composite image of Charlie and Winnie Blackwell above the Kaitoke flats on Great Barrier Island, showing the mānuka scrub and swamp area at the centre of the Council’s investigation.

Community News

‘We Feel Like Murderers’: Council Raid Terrifies 90-Year-Old Barrier Farmers

For 170 years, the Blackwell family has not just farmed the land on Great Barrier Island/Aotea; they have embodied the island’s enduring spirit of self-reliance. But for patriarch Charlie (89) and matriarch Winnie Blackwell (90), the latest confrontation with Auckland…