The church on 59 McKenzie Road, Māngere, was prohibited from being used in May 2023. Photo: Google Maps
An Auckland pastor and his church has been found guilty and handed a hefty fine of more than $82,000, for the unlawful construction and use of a church since 2023.
The Samoan Congregational Christian Church of New Zealand Māngere Trust and its pastor, Sean Palala, were sentenced at the Auckland District Court, for 15 charges of breaches to the Building Act and Resource Management Act.
The church and community centre, on McKenzie Road, Māngere, continued to be used for gatherings, even after being slapped with a dangerous building notice.
The church was fined $82,000 for a breach of abatement, breach of notice to fix, multiple breaches of enforcement orders and dangerous building notices, and ordered to pay a reparation to Auckland Council for costs.
Palala was convicted on all charges and sentenced to 400 hours community work and fined $7000 for his offending.
In a written statement, Auckland Council said the Court found the Trust had continued using the church building, in direct contravention of the interim enforcement order prohibiting its use from 2 May, 2023.
Gatherings continued on multiple occasions, despite a dangerous building notice also restricting access to the building.
Gatherings continued on multiple occasions, despite a dangerous building notice also restricting access to the building. Photo: LDR / supplied
At sentencing, council's head of prosecutions, John Kang, told the court the breaches of enforcement orders were "highly deliberate", committed while the defendants were awaiting sentence for the earlier offending.
Kang said that despite being personally warned by the Chief Environment Court Judge and served with the enforcement order on two separate occasions, Palala went on to breach the interim enforcement order on at least four occasions.
"Furthermore, a copy of the dangerous building notice remained affixed to the front window by the main entrance to the church building throughout the entire duration of the offending," Kang said.
In delivering his decision, Judge David Kirkpatrick found the prosecution's case had been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
"I find the Samoan Congregational Christian Church of New Zealand Māngere Trust and Sean Palala both guilty of the charges they face."
Judge Kirkpatrick emphasised the repetition of offending by the defendants was a "seriously aggravating factor", with no evidence that any steps had been taken either to fix or demolish the building.
Council's licensing and compliance field operations manager David Pawson said the court's verdict sent a strong message that ignoring enforcement orders and continuing to use unsafe buildings would not be tolerated.
"Compliance with building and resource consent laws is essential for the safety of our communities," he said.
He said council was committed to upholding the law and ensuring all structures met necessary safety and planning regulations.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
