by
Shirley Waru (Te Rarawa o Ngāpui / Te Uri o Tai) – Leader, Respect Mt Richmond / Ōtāhuhu
Anna Radford – Leader, Honour the Maunga)
A High Court decision recently cleared the way for Tūpuna Maunga Authority to rid Auckland’s volcanic cones (maunga) of all exotic trees – some 2500 of them. Fortunately that decision is being appealed but the trees’ fates still hang in the balance.
When announcing the decision, the Authority argued that removing the trees over a very short timeframe was necessary for “cultural, spiritual and ecological restoration”.
There is no question that the maunga are important to Tangata Whenua nor is there any doubt about the need to redress injustices perpetuated against Māori.
However, the maunga tree situation raises questions around whether cultural, spiritual and ecological restoration necessarily requires the destruction of other cultural identities and ecologies.
These are important considerations – not only for Auckland, but New Zealand. Read the full article on Honour the Maunga’s website
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Respect Mt Richmond / Ōtāhuhu 