An Auckland church and its representative have been convicted and fined for numerous charges related to illegal building work.
The Samoan Congregational Christian Church of New Zealand Māngere Trust and its representative, Sean Palala, were found guilty of 15 breaches of the Building Act 2004 and Resource Management Act at the Auckland District Court.
The conviction, which followed two separate prosecutions, was described as “decisive” by Auckland Council.
The case against the church trust and Palala revolved around unauthorised construction at their church and community centre on 59 McKenzie Rd — carried out without the necessary building and resource consents.
Despite enforcement actions imposed by the council, the trust and Palala failed to comply with statutory notices, court orders, and legal requirements.
The first prosecution found the trust guilty of failing to comply with a notice to fix, and failing to comply with an abatement notice.
Palala was found guilty of failing to comply with a notice to fix.
The notice required the unauthorised building work to be removed, or for alternative measures to be taken to ensure the project was legal.
An additional 12 charges were laid during the second prosecution, which included violations of an enforcement order, and it was found that the church was still being used despite the enforcement order prohibiting its use from May 2, 2023, onwards.
Gatherings continued on multiple occasions, despite a dangerous building notice which restricted access to the building.
These violations were committed while the defendants awaited sentencing for the earlier offences.
Auckland Council’s head of prosecutions, John Kang, said the breaches were “highly deliberate”.
“Despite being personally warned by the Chief Environment Court Judge and served with the enforcement order on two separate occasions, Mr Palala went on to breach the interim enforcement order on at least four occasions,” Kang said.
“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.”
In his decision, Judge David Kirkpatrick said: “Having heard the evidence presented by the council and in the absence of any challenge to that evidence, I accept the submission of the prosecutor that the charges are proved beyond reasonable doubt.
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“I find the Samoan Congregational Christian Church of New Zealand Māngere Trust and Sean Palala both guilty of the charges they face.”
The trust was fined $20,000 for the initial offence, $36,700 for the subsequent offending, and was ordered to pay $25,300 to the council for hoarding costs. Palala was sentenced to 400 hours of community work and fined $7000.
The property on which the church and community centre were being built has since been sold.
Auckland Council said, in a statement, the case highlighted the importance of compliance with building laws.
“The repeated breaches and continued use of an unsafe structure posed significant risks, reinforcing the need for enforcement actions against non-compliance.”
David Pawson, field operations manager for licensing and compliance at the council, said the 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.”
