Where to follow my work
Over time, more of my work has moved into live conversations, projects, and platforms - so this site isn’t updated as regularly as it once was.
The best way to stay across what I’m working on is to follow along here:

• @ErikaHarveyNZ
• @LobbyforGood
• @YouthVoicesAction

I also write more in-depth reflections and updates on Substack. 

https://lobbyforgood.substack.com/ 
https://erikaharveynz.substack.com/ 

The contract for the sale of Tauranga's Marine Precinct has now been settled, the local council has confirmed.
The $13.98 million sale of the precinct to a Christchurch developer was due to settle in November but was halted by a last-minute High Court interim injunction.
Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell said a recent High Court judgement dismissed an application for an interim injunction to prevent the completion of the Marine Precinct sale process.
"Justice J Andrew's findings were unambiguous. Based on further legal advice, Council has now met its legal and contractual obligations with regard to the sale of the precinct," he said.
Grenfell said the council will continue engaging with all marine industry stakeholders, including many who bitterly opposed the sale.
"This sale commits the purchaser to design, construct and complete development of the precinct so that it meets its strategic objectives and establishes a purpose-built marine service facility, for the wider benefit of the industry and the community," he said.
Tumblehome Bay developer Sam Rofe, who purchased the marine precinct, said it is with joy that the company can begin development of the area into a superyacht refit destination.
"Tumblehome Bay can begin the transformation works first envisaged by the city of Tauranga in 2014 - take up the baton, and deliver for the benefit of all, a world class marine precinct - entirely fit for purpose to provide employment and opportunities for the provision of specialist marine services to both larger pleasure craft and local commercial vessels, and now also, to a growing base of international clientele who hold in high esteem our skilled Kiwi marine professionals," said Rofe.
Lobby for Good director Erika Harvey - an outspoken opponent of the sale - said she was surprised to hear the sale had gone ahead.
"I've been advised to say nothing further at this time," she said.

Article: ​https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/559529/tauranga-s-marine-precinct-sale-contract-settled-council

By Libby Kirkby-McLeod of RNZ
Tauranga Mayor Mahe Drysdale has called the sale of marine precinct land a “s*** deal”, but residents say he is not taking the opportunity to cancel the deal.
Council commissioners announced in May the Marine Precinct at Sulphur Point had been sold, with purchaser Sam Rofe set to develop it into a superyacht destination.
Commercial boat operators who based their businesses in the precinct were dismayed by the news.
After council elections in July, marine precinct users organised a meeting to discuss the issue with the newly elected mayor and councillors.

Drysdale was strong in his criticism of the deal in that October meeting.
“It’s a shit deal, you know... we’ve inherited it.”
He told users the new council did not want the deal to go ahead.
​
“If we could get out of this deal … we would get out of this deal,” he told Lobby for Good director Erika Harvey, an outspoken opponent of the sale.
She pointed RNZ to a clause in the sale contract that said the council could cancel the sale. 
It states: “If at any time before the settlement date, an injunction proceeding is issued or any court granted preventing the sale and/or registration of a transfer in pursuance of this agreement, the vendor will be entitled, by notice in writing to immediately cancel this agreement”.
Harvey said she did not understand why the council had not now stopped the sale, especially given the assurances from Drysdale at the October meeting.
“It did seem to everyone in that room that they wished that there was a way out. So, when we gave them one, and they didn’t take it, it came as a shock to all of us.” 
The “way out” is the High Court interim injunction, which prevented the sale from being completed and was issued after precinct-based business Pacific7 filed judicial review proceedings.
Roger Rawlinson was at the October meeting and said the mayor made them feel he was on their side.

“We assumed moving forward that if there was any wiggle room or any way to get out of it, he would go out of his way to do that.”
He now felt that the mayor may not have been honest at the start.
“Because if he was consistent, he would just be what he was in that first meeting... but it appears either something has changed his mind, or he wasn’t honest to begin with.”
Drysdale told RNZ he stood by what he said in the October meeting and reiterated the current deal would not have been approved under his council.
Last week, the interim injunction stopping the sale was heard in the High Court at Tauranga, with the purchaser arguing it should be thrown out and the sale go ahead.
Drysdale said council was at the hearing, but was not fighting the injunction.
“As Tauranga City Council, we are a party and, obviously, provided information that was required to that, but we weren’t actually a party to the strike-out of that injunction,” he said.
The council was working productively with all parties to find the best possible outcome, he said.
“We have looked at every option available to us.”
The council was following legal advice but could not disclose that advice. 
RNZ asked the council whether it has considered enacting the cancellation clause, or if it had taken any votes on the matter.
Spokeswoman Christine Jones said the council had sought legal advice and had legal representation in respect of the injunction and the agreement.

However, as the matter was subject to legal proceedings, it would not be making any comment.
The High Court reserved its decision after the hearing last week, and an interim order pausing the sale remains in place.

The sale of Tauranga’s marine precinct could cause “irreversible harm” and drive some businesses out of town, a court has been told.
Tauranga City Council’s $13.98 million sale of the precinct to Christchurch developer Sam Rofe was due to settle in November 2024, but was halted by a last-minute High Court interim injunction.
The injunction was filed by Sean Kelly, managing director of marine service company Pacific7, who owns land at the precinct.
Kelly also applied for a judicial review of the council’s processes relating to the transaction.

Justice Peter Andrew heard arguments in the case in the High Court at Tauranga on Tuesday before a packed public gallery in the main courtroom and an overflow courtroom.
The basis for Pacific7’s injunction was the displacement of the working boats that use the precinct and a lack of consultation with precinct users.
Pacific7’s lawyer Matthew King said fishing boats had a long history in Tauranga and had been using the area that became the precinct for decades.

A proposal for the fishing boats to instead work from Fisherman’s Wharf near Tauranga’s CBD was “not a feasible alternative” as some could not fit under the Tauranga Harbour Bridge, King said.
Evidence from some businesses was they would have to leave the area if they did not have access to a wharf north of the bridge.
This would mean a loss of jobs and loss of significant revenue for the city, King said.
“Commercial marine business is the fabric of our culture and this deal puts it at risk.”
Under the sale and purchase agreement, there was no guarantee for berthing for working boats at the precinct, King said.
King said he was currently not looking for a full judicial review of the sale but for the interim injunction to continue while the sale was examined.

Tauranga City Council’s lawyer Sally McKechnie said the key context was the marine precinct was a “non-core council” activity.
She said King’s submission was about commitments to the marine industry but much of this was focused on fishing.
“There is no statutory requirement for the council to provide a marine precinct at all or for particular users or in a particular form.
“It’s not a strategic asset of the council’s and it never has been.”
The council did not have to provide fishing or working boat facilities, McKechnie said.
There were no ongoing contractual commitments to the users or potential users of the current wharf, she said.
The council had acknowledged that the sale would impact on some current users, McKechnie said.
For the interim orders to continue, the council submitted Pacific7’s challenge did not have the merit to further delay the development of the precinct, she said.
There would be “further costs on the council to maintain an asset which is underperforming and not achieving the economic aspirations of the city”, McKechnie said.

The issue of whether the precinct users were consulted about the sale was discussed at length.
Lawyers for the purchaser argued numerous meetings were held with marine users and, over the years, the option to sell was openly discussed.
Lawyer Jeremy Johnson said: “The issue of the future of the [marine precinct] was much discussed in this community for years.”
Rofe approached the council in late 2023 with a proposal to buy the precinct with a vision of it becoming a “premier superyacht refit destination”.
King said when the decision was made to sell the precinct to Rofe, users were not made aware of it.
Kelly was overseas when the sale was announced publicly in May 2024 and did not find out until September when he returned, he said.
When the sale was entered into in May the council was run by a government-appointed commission. It was due to settle in November after the July election.
The newly elected council first discussed the sale at a meeting in October where users aired their frustrations with the sale and being forced to leave the precinct.
Justice Andrew reserved his decision and said the interim orders remained in the meantime.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
​
Original Article: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/taurangas-marine-precinct-sale-could-cause-irreversible-harm-court-told/PRWZZUNDZBFCLK2F243F3O45YM/ 

It was an overflowing courtroom in the High Court at Tauranga on Tuesday as locals were told the sale of the Tauranga marine precinct should not have come as a surprise to residents who "were widely consulted".
Last year, Tauranga City Council sold the precinct to Christchurch developer Sam Rofe.
However, the sale was paused at the eleventh hour after an interim injunction was granted by the High Court.
Justice Andrew was hearing arguments on an application for a judicial review of the sale.
Lawyers for the purchaser argued that numerous meetings were held with marine users and over the years the option to sell was openly discussed.
Lawyer Shane Campbell said what the applicant, marine precinct user Pacific 7, really wanted to achieve was to pressure the council into cancelling the contract with their client.
"This proceeding has been brought on an admitted basis for trying to bring overt pressure to bear on elected officials to exercise what they say are cancellation rights," Campbell said.
Justice Andrews pushed back on this and asked whether the applicant was simply asking to hold Tauranga City Council to account.
"That's entirely legitimate isn't it, in a democracy?" the justice asked.
Outside the court, locals disagreed that there had been wide consultation and said they wanted justice for ratepayers.
"We haven't been included, there has been no consultation," said one.
Another said that it felt like a very small group of people were playing monopoly with the city.
Justice Andrew is expected to reserve his decision.

Tauranga's controversial marine precinct sale heads to the High Court today, where opponents of the sale are expected to pack out the courtroom.
Tauranga City Council (TCC) sold the precinct at Sulphur Point for $13.987m to Christchurch developer Sam Rofe last year. But the sale was paused at the eleventh hour after the High Court granted an interim injunction.
The court today is expected to hear arguments on whether to continue the interim injunction stopping the sale, which has been in place since November 2024.
RNZ understands it will also be argued by some parties that the judicial review proceedings raising concerns about TCC processes relating to the transaction should be thrown out.
Erika Harvey is a marine precinct user and director of public affairs for Lobby for Good. She said she was not against the selling of the marine precinct as such, but against the private sale process under which it was sold to Rofe for lower than valuation.
"It should be sold with public consultation, for the right amount of money - this deal is just a bad deal," she said.
She called for locals to meet at the High Court at Tauranga to 'be there. Be seen. Watch history unfold'.
Asked what she was hoped to achieve by organising a crowd, Harvey said she wanted people to be aware of the decisions being made in their town which affected them.
She believed the best outcome would be for the sale in its current form to not go through.
RNZ approached the purchaser's lawyers for comment, who replied that their client had none to make at this stage.
Local Tauranga MP Sam Uffindel said he was planning to attend the beginning of court proceedings today because the sale was of strong public interest.
"(It's) one I've been vocal on, and one that I'm determined to see TCC held accountable for."
Tauranga City Council spokesperson Christine Jones said the council will be represented by their lawyers in court on Tuesday.

Article: ​https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/542871/tauranga-s-marine-precinct-sale-goes-to-the-high-court

I’ve never told the full story of how I got here. But with what’s happening now in Tauranga, I think it’s time..... I didn’t plan to be in politics and I didn’t plan to be in courtrooms either.

Ten years ago, I raised concerns that Tauranga City Council was misleading the public about the future of the Marine Precinct. Not in a dramatic way — there was no big council chamber speech. Just conversations. Questions. Emails. Trying to understand why the consultation felt more like theatre than genuine dialogue.
That’s how this all started.

Back then, I believed that if you just got involved, followed the process, showed up at meetings, gave good-faith feedback, you could help shape better outcomes. But after over three years of sitting in those meetings, it became clear: nothing was changing. Decisions were already made. We were being walked through the motions — a consultation box being ticked, while plans moved forward behind closed doors.
In 2019, I’d had enough.

I gave my first public speech at the Tauranga mayoral debate https://www.facebook.com/ErikaHarveyNZ/videos/2408672642724639 — not because I was a polished politician, but because I couldn’t stay quiet anymore. I saw how broken the system was. How families, business owners, and everyday people were being shut out of the decisions that shaped their lives. And I thought maybe, just maybe, I could help fix that.

So I ran in the 2019 election. Then was asked to stand in the central body elections. Because the more I learned — especially about the state of our education system and what families of children with additional learning needs were facing, the more urgent it felt to try and change things from the inside.
And yet… here we are.

Years later. Still talking about the Marine Precinct. Still asking why public consultation continues to fail. Still fighting a fight that should have been resolved a decade ago, but this time, in court.

And who pays for that? We all do.
This entire legal battle could have been avoided. But instead, we’re watching public funds being spent to defend a deal that never should’ve been done in the first place. And the cause of this issue? It hasn’t changed.

Because what I’ve learned, and what most people already suspect, is:
Consultation is broken.
It’s not designed to empower people. It’s designed to protect decisions that are already underway. The problem isn’t just the decisions — it’s the process. One side knows all the options, the risks, the long-term vision. The other side — the public — is only ever given a snapshot of what’s already been decided.
And when you question that? When you try to slow things down and shine a light? You’re the problem. You’re too loud. Too emotional. Too “political.”
But what’s truly political… is pretending consultation is real while deliberately keeping people in the dark.

I’m not writing this as someone who aspires to be a politician. I don't. I never really wanted to be. I’m standing here as a mum. As a community member who saw how hard people were working to build a better future, and how easily those efforts were ignored.

I’ve spent years trying to fix this. And I’ll keep going, not as a politician, but on the other side, within my community. Because it shouldn’t take a decade, a campaign, and a court case just to ask:
Why aren’t people being told the truth?
And if we want to stop ending up in the same place — over and over again — we have to stop pretending that ticking boxes is enough.

I hope one day the transcript from the interim injunction hearing is released. Because that day, something became painfully clear: everyone in that room learned how broken this process really is.

We all deserve better than box-ticking and silence.
We deserve decisions made with us — not around us.
It’s time we stop normalising broken processes.
And stop treating the people who speak up as if they’re the problem.
It’s not radical to ask for answers. It’s responsible.
And it’s long past time we started demanding them.

If you’ve ever felt shut out, second-guessed, or like your voice didn’t count — you’re not alone. And you’re not the problem.
The system is.
I really hope we can fix it, genuinely together one day. 

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell is taking the city's council to the Ombudsman after he said they failed to give satisfactory answers to an information request over the contentious sale of the city's marine precinct.
Uffindell is also urging other residents unhappy with the council's transparency to do the same.
The council has received 20 requests for information under the Local Government Official Information And Meetings Act (LGOIMA) since April, asking for information about how the decision to sell the land came about.
Only one of these has been provided an answer in full.
Eleven had information partially or completely withheld while another five were told to find the information online from what had already been made public. The council was still working on three requests.
Uffindell was one of the 20 who asked for information and he said these figures were proof of his own concerns about the process.
The council at first directed Uffindell to the information already made public through other LGOIMA requests. Uffindell replied that he did not feel it answered his questions and then waited to hear back.
After 20 working days from his request, RNZ approached Tauranga City Council to ask if they were planning to respond to Uffindell. He received a response from the council two days later, refusing part of his request and pointing him to already public information for the remainder.
He said he was not happy with this response.
"I feel that it is pretty light touch, that they have put up a bunch of somewhat generic information... but to the substantive request I don't think it's been adequately addressed."
He said it felt like the council was giving out crumbs and hoping people will go away. He has had several voters come to him also complaining about the way their LGOIMA requests have been responded to.
As an example, he pointed to one resident's request for correspondence between key staff at the council and the developers who bought the land.
"[TCC] are refusing the request to provide this information [on the grounds] it is substantial. I find that really concerning. In fact, I find, with all the public criticism about the questions being asked, their unwillingness to be transparent about communication between senior council staff, including the chief executive, and the key developers, absolutely appalling," said Uffindell.
He said he was going to seek an investigation by the Ombudsman into the council's response to his request and he was telling constituents who complain to him to also approach the Ombudsman.
Uffindell has called for the mayor and councillors to demand the chief executive address the situation and he will be meeting mayor Mahe Drysdale today to directly raise this as a concern with him.
"TCC is doing itself a huge disservice, in my opinion, by not being more transparent and open with the public."
In a statement, the council's democracy services team leader Kath Norris said the council was happy with the way marine precinct LGOIMA requests were being responded to.
"Council is satisfied that all official information requests about the Marine Precinct have been responded to in accordance with LGOIMA and within the prescribed timeframes set in the legislation," she said.
Norris suggested that the problem was often with the request, not the way it was responded to.
"We note that when very broad requests are received, it is appropriate to ask for the request to be refined. Once the requester refines the original request, it is then treated as a new request, replacing the original one. This restarts the statutory time limit for LGOIMA."
Uffindell said it was really important that the public had a high level of trust in the council.
"My strong recommendation is for the mayor and councillors to call in the [chief executive] and made it very clear to him that he and his staff need to be absolutely upfront with the people of Tauranga," he said. 
Article: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/537093/tauranga-council-giving-out-crumbs-of-information-mp 

The proposed sale of the marine precinct took another turn last week when Tauranga City Council was served with judicial review proceedings and the High Court granted an interim injunction to prevent the sale from being completed.
RNZ has put together a timeline of the twists and turns involved with the sale.
2004: Tauranga council buys the marine precinct land. RNZ has asked the council what price it paid, however, we have been told an official information request will be needed to obtain that information.
2014: Council secured a $5 million grant from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Regional infrastructure Fund to develop the marine precinct into a facility to support the marine industry in Tauranga.
December 2020: Tauranga council is sacked by the government after internal dysfunction.
3 July 2023: Council obtained a valuation of the land, followed by a second valuation in December of that year. When including improvements to the land the midpoint valuation was $22.144 million.
August 2023: Council's chief executive Marty Grenfell met with developer Rupert Curry and discussed development opportunities in the city.
Christchurch developer Sam Rofe then made contact with council via Curry with a proposal to purchase the marine precinct. He had a vision for the marine precinct "to emerge as the premier superyacht refit destination, where luxury meets precision, and dreams are meticulously crafted into reality" (council was still under the management of commissioners).
The land was never advertised by the council as being for sale on the open market.
27 November 2023: In a closed-door meeting, the commissioners decided to progress negotiations to sell the marine precinct to Rofe.
27 March 2024: Council and Rofe signed a non-binding term sheet which set out the proposed commercial terms.
8 April 2024: In a closed-door meeting, the commissioners approved the key terms of sale. This included a sale price of $13m and a commitment by council to fund the cost of the development of an alongside wharf and a replacement of the existing Bridge Wharf.
After this meeting, the term sheet was formalised into interdependent agreements for sale and purchase for the marine precinct land and Vessel Works business.
Monday, 20 May 2024: In a closed-door meeting, the commissioners approved up to $29.2m for wharf redevelopment. In addition, council approved up to $7.8m to replace Fishermans Wharf.
Council's meeting agenda notes that there has been a reduction in the expected proceeds for the marine precinct from $33m to $13m.
20 July 2024: Tauranga city holds a local election, returning democratic power to councillors and the mayor.
23 October 2024: At an extraordinary meeting of the council several members of the public speak against the sale, including Mark Ngata, general manager of Moana New Zealand which operates at the port. Roger Rawlinson, who owns seven boats at the marine, jumped up and spoke outside of the public forum time, shutting down attempts by the mayor to remind him of meeting process. Video of this was spread widely online.
4 November 2024: Mayor Mahe Drysdale speaks out against abuse being suffered by council staff online, saying he was concerned it created an unreasonable situation for individual staff and the organisation.
12 November 2024: Tauranga-based ACT MP Cameron Luxton said he has written to the Auditor-General, raising concerns about the sale and requesting an investigation.
MP Sam Uffindell is among those concerned about the council's deal. 
14 November 2024: Local MP Sam Uffindell said [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/534387/the-deal-sucks-mps-question-tauranga-marine-precinct-sale
he went to see the auditor general] and asked that the sale be investigated.
15 November 2024: Mayor Drysdale said he had written to the Office of the Auditor-General to express full support for any review or investigation.
19 November 2024: RNZ asked the auditor general if they were planning to review the sale. A spokesperson for the Office of the Auditor-General confirmed they had received correspondence asking them to look at investigating this issue and are considering the issues raised.
21 November 2024: The High Court granted an interim injunction to prevent the sale from being completed after Sean Kelly, managing director of Pacific7 (a company currently based at the precinct) filed an injunction.
25 November 2024: Tauranga council holds an emergency closed door meeting to discuss the judicial review. Drysdale said the council was seeking further legal advice and information before an informed decision was made.
A court date to hear the injunction is yet to be set.
29 November 2024: Tauranga  community advocacy organisation, Lobby for Good, wrote to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) asking it to urgently investigate the sale of the marine precinct. It said the  lack of transparency in the deal suggested possible deliberate undervaluation or improper conduct.
3 December 2024: The SFO confirmed to RNZ that it has received a complaint in relation to Tauranga's Marine Precinct. It said it could not comment on whether an investigation is likely to eventuate. 

Original Article: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/535145/a-timeline-of-tauranga-s-controversial-marine-precinct-sale