Auckland Mayor Phil Goff wants the Tupuna Maunga Authority to sit down with opponents of tree removal on Owairaka-Mount Albert to see if there is room for compromise or more explanation.

A neighbourhood group is blocking contractors from going on to the mountain to remove more than 300 exotic trees including money apple and olives.

Mr Goff says the authority, which is a co-governance body of iwi owners and Auckland Council, had gone through the proper notification process to remove the trees and replace them with natives.

But there could still be room for more discussion.

“There is going to be change and the, you know, cut the pine trees out and no one is complaining about that or the willows or the gum trees or even the olive trees. There are probably some species of exotic trees that are quite nice and it will be interesting to see a discussion between the authority and the protest group to see if there is any room for compromise in either the time frame or what trees, whether all the trees are going to be cut or whether some trees are going to be allowed to survive,” Mr Goff says.

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