Auckland “Bono” wants the tree back on One Tree Hill

(PR.co.nz) Auckland rocker Jamie Rowe wants a tree planted on One Tree Hill and he’s willing to do it himself. “I’d go and do it myself, but there have been numerous attempts in the last 13 years and the council keep removing them. They’ve been spending hard earned ratepayers’ money removing something everyone wants. So there is little point until the Council decides to keep it.”

Rowe is the front man for Auckland U2 tribute act Experience U2, and like the man he portrays in his show, he’s passionate about political issues. “Its an international embarrassment. Everytime I sing One Tree Hill I think about it and it’s a joke. It’s a symbol of the ineffectiveness of our central and local government bureaucracies. We are told that the Council has agreed with Ngati Whatua not to plant a tree until their treaty claims were addressed. Ngati Whatua settled with the governernment in 2011 and we’re still waiting.”

It was also generally understood that Maori and Auckland Council could not agree on the type of tree that should be planted. However, that has been resolved for some time, with the parties agreeing that it should be a native tree, and that planting a grove of pohutakawa and totara would provide the greatest chance of a native surviving.

“Frankly, your average Kiwi doesn’t care what it is. A native would be great, but for years it was two pines that were originally planted as part of a screen to protect a native planting, but the natives didn’t survive.” The first pine was felled in 1960, the second in 2000, both as a result of vandalism.

“Len Brown wants a multi-million dollar rail system as his legacy. If he sorted this out he would be remembered a lot longer as the man who fixed One Tree Hill. I’ll even help him do it.”

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