The removal of protection for urban trees by the Government is threatening a 500-year-old kauri tree, and is just the thin end of the wedge if the Government is to gut the Resource Management Act (RMA) further, the Green Party said today.

"When its ok for one of our oldest and most treasured trees to be chopped down to maximise profit, and allowed under the latest changes to the RMA, theres something very wrong here. Environmental protection in our legislation and our local government rules isnt strong enough," said Green Party environmental spokesperson Julie Anne Genter.

"Nick Smith is planning an even more brutal assault on our environment by watering down the principles of the RMA that ensure our cherished places and assets like our forests, our beaches, or open spaces are looked after.

"Trees like the kauri are intrinsic to our identity, and were working hard to save them from kauri dieback disease. There are only around 200 left in the Waitakere area, where protestors are fighting to save the 500-year-old tree.

"Further changes to the RMA will only sacrifice our landscapes all in the name of affordable housing, which Nick Smith clearly cant guarantee.

"There are alternatives to shredding the RMA. The Green Party would bring in a Progressive Ownership Initiative that will see low-income families rent-to-own government-built homes at an affordable price, and introduce measures to slow down the rate of property price rises such as a capital gains tax.

"These and other measures would address housing affordability without endangering the environment and the things we love about it," said Ms Genter.

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Removal of kauri trees 'thin end of the wedge'

The fate of a 500-year-old kauri tree lies in the hands of developers after Auckland Council refused to rescue it from the axe.

The ancient tree in Titirangi was saved on Monday morning after a group of 50 locals showed up to protest its removal by contractors.

The arborists left after protester Michael Tavares, who heard of the protest via Twitter, climbed 25 metres up the tree's trunk and refused to budge.

He told Radio New Zealand he was "prepared to spend some time up here."

"I'm safe up here so long as work isn't attempted to fell this or other trees near it."

Auckland Council is sticking to its original decision to grant consent for the removal of the trees to make way for building improvements.

In a statement released on Monday, the council's resource consent manager David Oakhill said council assessed the ecological value of the site and was satisfied developers would keep environmental effects to a minimum.

"In fact, the developers have elected to build the houses close to the road which minimises the number of trees that needs to be removed because there will be no long driveways," Mr Oakhill said.

Asked what happens now, an Auckland Council spokeswoman said the removal decision was in the hands of developers.

Protest organiser and local resident Aprilanne Bonar said she was relieved their actions won the tree a last-minute reprieve but said more work was needed to convince the Parnell-based developers from pushing forward.

Go here to read the rest:
Kauri's life in developers' hands: council

SHANE COWLISHAW AND ROSE REES-OWEN

Shane Cowlishaw/Stuff.co.nz

Protesters gather to rally against the felling of the 500-year-old kauri tree.

Auckland Council says it is powerless to intervene in saving a 500-year-old kauri in Titirangi.

Plans to fell the tree for a private housing development have drawn widespread criticism, including one tree climber who remains up the tree onMonday night.

The council's chief operating officer, Dean Kimpton, said in a statement the council "has no mandate to revoke the consent and so for this tree nothing can be done".

ROSE REES-OWEN

TREE PROTEST: "If I didn't climb the tree this morning it wouldn't be here now," Michael Travares says.

Kimpton defended the decision to grant the resource consent for the tree to be lopped, saying all due process was followed and a range of alternatives were considered.

"The decision is a balance between minimising the environmental effects with the developer's expectation he could build on his own property."

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Auckland Council powerless to save kauri

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