Owners pledge reprieve for threatened kauri and rimu
The owners of the land on which an ancient kauri stands have written an open letter, saying the tree won’t be cut down.
The tree, along with a 300-yearold rimu, were to be felled to make way for two houses.
John Lenihan and Jane Greensmith, owners of the Titirangi site in West Auckland, have released an open letter stating they will not cut down the trees.
‘‘Over the past few days we have been overwhelmed with the agendas of council, politicians, protesters, and so on,’’ they wrote.
‘‘We were quite normally private people but now we have been dragged into being public figures.
‘‘Let the trees stay, including the kauri, which we have been calling 500, and the rimu called 300. It doesn’t matter how old they are as they now need to stay. Some other trees might have to go – this is the compromise bit, but let’s keep it to a minimum.’’
Auckland mayor Len Brown yesterday said he was open to suggestions on how to save the tree and had been in talks with Lenihan in a bid to strike a deal.
Brown said ‘‘other options regarding the kauri are being considered in association with the property owner to see whether there is another way forward’’.
He said the resource consent had been granted legally, though he understood people’s passion to save the tree.
Brown called for people to take a ‘‘deep breath’’ over the issue.
Protest organiser Aprilanne Bonar said the owners’ concession was a great first step, but the occupation would continue until an official and legal agreement had been reached.
Lenihan and Greensmith had yet to contact the protest group directly, refusing all requests for a meeting, so it was hoped that would change today.
‘‘They won’t speak to us so we’re hoping today that we’ll actually take the next step and we can have a discussion about it.’’
Bonar said tree climber Michael Tavares would stay in the kauri until protesters had a legal document confirming that the kauri and rimu could stay.
The protest group was to attend a council meeting this morning to present a petition with more than 28,000 signatures.
‘‘There still needs to be a voice for all the other trees that could be cut down,’’ Bonar said. ‘‘ We believe the Resource Management Act needs to be reformed and the people of Auckland deserve that.’’