Listen Now: 
A member of tree protection group Mana Rākau says a negotiated end to the protest against the removal of a 120-year old macrocarpa in Avondale offers hope for other significant trees in west Auckland.
Māori arborist Zane Wedding says Auckland Council failed in its responsibilities when it agreed to the removal of the tree without public notification.
Continuing the protest would have required a costly legal battle, and Mana Rākau was also sympathetic to the position of developer Ockham-Marutūāhu and the people who had already signed up for apartments.
The protest ended with a karakia at the tree on Thursday after the developer agreed to work with his group to push the council to schedule more trees.
"There are 587 trees waiting to be scheduled by Auckland Council, much the same as that macrocarpa, and we are looking to find pathways to schedule at least 13 of those trees within the Whau area," Mr Wedding says.
The protest had highlighted the massive loss of tree canopy in the city since the John Key National government removed protections a decade ago.
!["p_facebook"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/facebook.jpg")
& !["p_twitter"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/twitter.jpg")
Copyright © 2021, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
