Noeline Taurua and Edward Goldsmith outside court yesterday. Photo/Ben Fraser
Noeline Taurua and Edward Goldsmith outside court yesterday. Photo/Ben Fraser
A legal stoush involving a luxury Lake Okareka lodge, the partner of a netball star and alleged interference with conservation land has come before the courts.
Edward James Goldsmith, a 41-year-old company director and partner of former New Zealand netballer and former Waikato Bay of Plenty coach Noeline Taurua, hasdenied Department of Conservation (DoC) charges of knowingly and without authority interfering with the natural features of a conservation area and knowingly and without authority erecting a deck on that area.
A three-day hearing began in the Rotorua District Court yesterday.
It's alleged between October and December 2012 Goldsmith carried out unauthorised excavation and development within the Lake Okareka Marginal Strip, an area of conservation land that runs between his lakeside Black House on the Point lodge and the lake.
Goldsmith told Judge Christopher Harding he was unemployed but was not eligible for legal aid as he was deemed asset rich, so he had no choice but to represent himself.
DoC solicitor Mike Bodie said Goldsmith used earth-moving machines to clear vegetation from the lakeside land, replacing it with a lawn and a white sand beach. He also built a timber deck to enable visitors to get on and off boats.
