PM backs Erebus memorial process
Opposition says memorial too big, park too small and its vibe will change, writes Phil Taylor
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is “very comfortable” with planning for an Erebus memorial in the Parnell Rose Gardens despite the controversy surrounding it.
Ardern’s comments come as Auckland Council’s Waitemata¯ Local Board prepares to decide whether to give formal landowner consent, having given approval in principle a year ago, for the memorial to be built in the park officially named DoveMyer Robinson Park.
Formal consent was delayed until after the local body elections following complaints that the public didn’t get adequate opportunity to have a say.
Auckland Council has since held an information day at the park and sought feedback.
Jo Malcolm, whose husband’s father died in the Erebus crash, and Annie Coney have led local opposition.
In a letter responding to Malcolm, the Prime Minister said she was “very comfortable with the ministry’s processes around the development and design of the memorial”.
The design and location had come after “a long process and careful consideration”, said Ardern, who is Minister for Culture and Heritage, the department driving the project.
Dove-Myer Robinson Park was fitting and in keeping with “key feedback” that the memorial be in “a place [suitable] for quiet contemplation and informal family gatherings; and in a secluded park-like location”.
Ardern’s letter, however, did not mention information released to Malcolm under the Official Information Act that indicates DoveMyer Robinson Park became the only Auckland option as several other possible sites fell away for various reasons.
Malcolm claims the Government ploughed on because of time constraints even after its consultants — Boffa Miskell — thought it was a poor location.
The ministry has told the Herald that by the time it received the Boffa Miskell report it “was confident that Dove-Myer Robinson Park was a good fit”.
Malcolm and Coney both live a short stroll from the park but say they are not Nimbys. The project had been railroaded, the memorial — Te Paerangi Ataata — Sky Song — was too big, the park too small and it would change its vibe. They have taken their campaign to Facebook, raised a petition and hired lawyers.
The controversy had soured the 40th anniversary for some of the families of the 257 people who died on Flight 901.
“It’s hard for family members,” said Dan Moloney, who was 20 when his father, a flight engineer died. “It’s always emotional when it comes up, what with the controversy in the past, and now this.”
Moloney, who lives in Point Chevalier, was one of two members of
Erebus families on the panel that chose the design. Designs were called for after Dove-Myer Robinson Park was selected by the ministry last year.
Moloney thinks it is a good choice and notes that it overlooks Teal Park
in Mechanics Bay, which is where Air New Zealand’s forerunner, Tasman Empire Airways Limited, was based and where crew, including his father, trained.
Paul Gilberd, whose grandfather was on the flight, said he hopes the memorial goes ahead after many false starts. “Those of us who couldn’t go to Antarctica to acknowledge our loss have had 39 years of waiting.”
Dove-Myer Robinson Park had the blessing of mana whenua and Auckland Council, said Gilberd.
“I grew up in Parnell and also think of those beautiful gardens as precious. It would be wonderful to think that the residents of Parnell could find it in their hearts to share that park with our families.”
David Allan, whose parents and sister died, also used to live in the area and knows the park and was “rapt” with the choice of site which, he said, was “fitting and practical”.
“I’m not sure about the process as far as residents went. If that was a problem, that is unfortunate and probably does need to be addressed, but some of what has been going on lately is pretty insensitive, to say the least.
“I understand people may have different views but I find it incredible that people could feel that their local park is actually their own sort of private garden. It’s public land.”