No action on Moore’s illegal pad

A notorious gang member has created a climate of fear that is preventing the a local authority from doing its job, a number of New Plymouth District Councillors say.

However the man at the centre of the stoush, Kevin Moore, who has been a member of the Black Power for more than 30 years, says fear has nothing to do with it. Rather the council has not contacted him because it has realised it has no jurisdiction over his property.

In September council officers declared the house Moore had built on land he’s occupied at Waitara’s East Beach since 2014, illegal.

But Moore disagrees. He says the house is on freehold Ma¯ ori Land that belongs to him and as tangata whenua he doesn’t need council approval.

The land is managed by the Rohutu Block Trust. Attempts to contact a spokesperson for the trust have been unsuccessful but in February 2016 a representative told the Ma¯ ori Land Court they wanted Moore removed from the site.

More than two months after the issue of the illegal structure was brought to the council’s attention Moore claimed he still hadn’t been contacted by council staff wanting to inspect the house.

‘‘I told them to come and have a look.

‘‘That’s what I would like to believe, it’s true they have no jurisdiction.’’

Kelvin Wright, NPDC Chief Operating Officer, said staff had met with representatives of the trustees of the Rohutu Block who’d advised they were seeking clarification from the Ma¯ ori Land Court on entitlement to that piece of land.

‘‘We’re looking into a building in this area which we haven’t received a consent for and once this investigation is complete, we’ll decide next steps,’’ Wright said.

New Plymouth District councillor Gordon Brown said it was important the council was seen to be acting even-handedly to everybody in the community and it did not appear to be happening with Moore.

‘‘Having Kevin Moore intimidate council into inaction is not acceptable to me or to anybody in the community,’’ Brown said.

He acknowledged it wasn’t council land but said Moore still had to comply with building codes.

‘‘It has almost become a major operation with, I would suspect, having to involve police to ensure that the job can be done.’’

The council had to do the hard jobs and the rules applied to everyone, he said.

‘‘Mr Moore is not above the law and it’s an important message that we need to send to everybody.

‘‘We have got to do the job no matter what it takes and if that means involving the police and escorting officers on to the property to get the job done then so be it.’’

John ‘‘Horse’’ McLeod said he understood the council was waiting for the trustees to make a decision on whether Moore could be evicted from the land.

‘‘I agree with the approach that they are taking,’’ McLeod said.

If the trust was to let Moore remain living on the site then the council would need to be able to check the building for compliance without any intimidation, he said.

If they were to evict Moore it became a police matter, McLeod said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the Ma¯ ori Land Court’s Aotea Registry had received an application from the Rohutu Block Trust but wouldn’t provide details.

‘‘The Court is considering the application but no decisions have been made.’’