By ANNE BESTON
Ngati Whatua are concerned that thousands of Aucklanders will tramp through their backyard if a series of walkways proposed for Bastion Pt go ahead.
Public footpaths around the point's perimeter are contained in a management plan commissioned by the Auckland City Council in conjunction with the reserves board that administers the land (made up of tribal members and Auckland City councillors).
But the walkways are opposed by some members of the tribe who say it will turn their land into just another public domain.
"This is not a management plan for Maori. If we don't say 'no' to this we are going to be pushed into a corner," said Rocky Mu at a hui to discuss the plan held at Bastion Pt yesterday.
He said a petition of about 100 signatures would be sent to the city council when final submissions on the plan closed today.
The planned public accessways would be built from the Savage Memorial, past Orakei Marae, with exits at Mission Bay or Okahu Bay. The draft management plan also includes sculpture, some seating and landscaping.
Several plans have been proposed for the land since 1991. The city council paid $25,000 to consultants for this one.
It covers the 48ha whenua rangatira, which includes parts of Okahu Bay and the open space west of the Savage Memorial. It takes in the land returned to Ngati Whatua after the Bastion Pt occupation in 1978.
But city councillor Juliette Yates, a member of the reserves board, said consultation on the plan had been going on for most of the past decade.
"It's taken a very long time to get it to this stage because the reserves board has taken time for constant consultation," she said.
The walkways would be away from Kitemoana St, she said, and tourists would not be tramping through the tribe's backyard.
"It's not opening up the whole area, it's a very minimalist approach."
Ngati Whatua reserve board member Pakihana Grant Hawke said the tribe wanted to use the land for its own economic benefit.
Tribe angered by Bastion Pt plans
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