Kauri activist can’t get Kiwi citizenship - yet
The Australian-born protector of a west Auckland kauri tree has been denied a New Zealand passport.
Michael Tavares, 34, spent 81 hours up the kauri in 2015 to prevent it being chopped down by housing developers.
His actions sparked a protest, and 27,000 people signed a petition to save the centuries-old native tree.
But they also brought about a trespass conviction - the reason the Department of Internal Affairs blocked his bid for citizenship.
The environmental campaigner has lived in New Zealand for six years and has a Kiwi wife, Eleanor Parkes.
He is a permanent resident of New Zealand.
A conviction prevents people from being eligible for New Zealand citizenship for three years after the court’s ruling.
But citizenship can still be granted if the government deems the circumstances out of the ordinary.
Tavares applied for special consideration and said the rejection was ‘‘disappointing’’.
‘‘I think most New Zealanders would agree that the circumstances around my conviction were exceptional, of a nonviolent nature, and in service of a cause greater than myself.’’
Tavares said he had hoped to stand for election for the Green Party this year, but would be unable to do so without New Zealand citizenship.
Meanwhile, the kauri he saved is still standing in the bush-clad suburb of Titirangi.
Public support for Tavares convinced the landowners to spare the tree.
It is estimated to be 150 to 200 years old.
Nevertheless, it had since been ring-barked with chainsaws - a process that leads to eventual death.
Tavares handed himself into police custody after he descended from the tree.
At the time, Tavares said he had been able to ‘‘give that tree a voice and the community a chance to be heard’’.
He was later charged and convicted with trespass at Waitakere District Court.
He intends to re-apply for citizenship in a year’s time.
By then his conviction will be more than three years old, and he said he doesn’t anticipate having to deal with further hurdles.
‘‘I love this country, its people, its rivers, beaches, mountains and forests, he said.
‘‘This is my home, and I have a lot to offer.’’