Brian Rudman: If this is appropriate use, I'd hate to see what isn't

When the Bamiyan Buddha statues in central Afghanistan were blown up by the Taleban last year, our Government was quick to join in the condemnation. But with Transit New Zealand bulldozers warming up to obliterate a key monument to Auckland's past, where are our leaders? Busy in the wings cheering on the despoilers, that's where.

On Wednesday, Environment Court Judge John Treadwell gave Transit permission to take State Highway 20 through the side of Mt Roskill. While conceding the new road "will have a significant effect upon the appearance of the Mt Roskill volcanic cone", he, nevertheless, decided this was a sacrifice worth making. I disagree.

If you think I exaggerate the status of Mt Roskill and Auckland's other volcanic cones, consider this quote: "We accept without question the importance of the volcanic structures of the Auckland isthmus and furthermore accept they are regarded as unique in the world."

Who said that? Judge Treadwell, that's who, in Wednesday's judgment.

He went on: "Most have been interfered with in one way or another and some have been totally destroyed. It is, therefore, important in terms of the Resource Management Act that Mt Roskill, one of the relatively unspoilt examples of this past history and activity, be protected as required by the RMA from inappropriate use and development."

Now I don't know about you, but to me, slicing the north face of the mountain and leaving a sheer scar stretching nearly a quarter of the way up the cone is "inappropriate use". It's also as vandalistic to what Judge Treadwell acknowledges is something "unique in the world" as what the Taleban got up to in Afghanistan.

The real hurt is that it needn't be. If the road was to move just another 40 or so metres north at that point, as was proposed at the court hearing by the Volcanic Cones Society, it would skirt the mountain, leaving it relatively unscarred. That a dozen or so houses would have to be removed as a result seems a small price to pay.

Mt Roskill's fate now lies in the hands of one-time Westie chook-breeder Chris Carter, the new Minister of Conservation. Since Mt Roskill is reserve land, Transit New Zealand still has to seek Mr Carter's permission before its bulldozers can begin their despoiling.

For Mr Carter, it's the chance to be either a hero or a chicken. So far, things are not looking so good. In one of his first moves on assuming office, Mr Carter delegated his authority under the Public Works Act to make the decision on Mt Roskill to his department's Auckland Conservator, Rob McCallum.

This is bad news for Mt Roskill. Both the Auckland conservator and the Auckland Conservation Board, having initially opposed Transit's plans, copped out before the Environment Court hearing took place.

The Department of Conservation is not the only organisation to have abandoned Mt Roskill to its fate. Both Auckland City and Auckland Regional Council politicians gave in after lobbying from the roads lobby. At both city and regional level, the politicians overruled the concerns of their staff.

The institutional hypocrisy involved has been breathtaking. DOC, for instance, while allowing the rape of Mt Roskill, is simultaneously planning World Heritage status for Auckland's volcanic cones.

In August, Jill McPherson, Auckland City's director of planning services, was reassuring the Volcanic Cone Society in a letter that our cones "receive stringent protection under the district plan".

She said the "core intent of protection is to conserve taonga for the future. It is accepted heritage policy within Auckland City Council that our success or failure will be judged by future generations".

I say forget future generations. It's this generation that should be doing the judging and, as far as Mt Roskill is concerned, we have all failed. The public for not shouting enough. The officials for not standing up to the politicians and doing the right thing. And the politicians, above all, for preaching the uniqueness of our heritage, then letting loose the bulldozers to destroy it.

The road alignment through Mt Roskill comes from a road corridor designated by the Crown in the 1950s. Judge Treadwell noted the alignment was adopted "with less regard being paid to environmental issues than is now required by the RMA. Legislation then in place tended to place public works in a pre-eminent position which is no longer necessarily the case".

In this light, it's beyond understanding why he and Transit and the politicians and the bureaucrats continue to behave, in the case of Mt Roskill, as though they do still live in the 1950s.

Mr Carter is the last hope. As a politician he hasn't ducked the contentious issues in the past. The Volcanic Cones Society wrote to him a month ago asking him to retrieve his delegated powers on this matter and make the decision himself. I agree. This is a political decision.

Indeed, the decision that Auckland's volcanoes are too precious to be further vandalised should have been gospel years ago. Now it's a decision for Mr Carter. Hero or chicken? We'll see.

Further reading
Feature: Getting Auckland moving

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