Brian Rudman: Protection not enough to stop chainsaw gang

The Auckland City Council gained an interim enforcement order on Friday to prevent the removal of what is left of a landmark, century-old pohutukawa.

The tree, on Mt Smart Rd in Royal Oak, was hacked to pieces last Monday.

Initially it was thought the damage was fatal. But now council officials hope the tree might regenerate.

Notable for its size and beauty, reaching 11m high and spreading more than 20m, it was one of the special trees scheduled for protection in the city's district plan.

Because of their botanical, amenity or historic value, permission to remove such trees is seldom granted.

George Bernard Shaw, property developer and owner of the property, was shattered by the destruction. "I'm gutted. It's straight-out vandalism," he told the local paper.

Mr Shaw is on notice from an Environment Court judge to be kinder to trees.

Judge Richard Bollard directed a stern warning at him in 1997, when he fined Mr Shaw $18,000 plus costs after he pleaded guilty to various tree destruction and district plan breaches.

Commenting on the fines, Judge Bollard said: "I trust that it may serve as a warning to Mr Shaw that if he offends again, the court will not treat such matters as lightly; and I hope that the fines imposed for these tree fellings in particular ... may serve as some sort of notice and warning to other developers who may have in mind flouting what by now is a well-known requirement applicable in Auckland City."

Mr Shaw's appearance before Judge Bollard in December 1997 involved two charges relating to the unlawful felling of protected trees in Bracken Ave, Epsom, in May 1996 and the felling of a tree on another property in Richardson Rd, Mt Roskill, in July 1996.

Judge Bollard noted Mr Shaw was an experienced Auckland property developer employing "a good number of staff" who "has not seen fit to express remorse as such for his actions, but is rather resentful at the way council officers investigated the circumstances in relation to each property, resulting in the charges that are now before me".

Two trees, a native titoki and a liquidambar, both of sufficient size to fall into the automatically protected category, were felled at Bracken Ave.

The judge said he was satisfied Mr Shaw knew they were of a protected size. At Richardson Rd, an oak was destroyed. Mr Shaw said the contractor had been ordered to remove all rubbish and ground surface materials and should not have included the oak. The judge said that as an experienced contractor Mr Shaw should have ascertained what was to be removed before the contractor began.

Auckland City records reveal these weren't the first protected trees to tumble on a Shaw development site. Compliance monitoring team leader Warren Adler says that in 1993, three protected trees, including a large pohutukawa, were removed from a townhouse development site in Alpers Ave. This was despite police intervention on two occasions.

Destroying a scheduled tree is a breach of the district plan, punishable by a fine of up to $200,000 and two years' imprisonment. A fine up to three times the value of any commercial gain derived from the breach can also be imposed.

But in this case the council first has to discover who did it.

Last Monday at 10.30am two men were seen leaping from a car, chopping limbs from the tree then fleeing.

The branches, some over 2m in girth, were left a jumbled mess on the surrounding land. Mr Shaw told council officials he had not authorised anyone to enter the site.

Was it then a rival or enemy of Mr Shaw's who knew how embarrassing the incident would be for him?

So far, the council's main clue is the car registration plate of the fleeing chainsaw gang. Mr Adler says he is following the trail. He would be grateful for any other clues.