Trespass Charge Against Kauri Protestor Welcomed

Affordable Auckland Mayoral candidate Stephen Berry welcomes the laying of a trespass charge against Michael Tavares, the man who spent 81 hours in a Kauri tree to prevent it being chopped down by its owner. “Property owners should be able to do lawful activities upon their own property without fear of it being invaded by criminals. It is my hope he faces a sentence that deters others from doing the same.”

Mr. Tavares said in a press release issued today, “By occupying the tree, a whole community was able to have their voice heard on an issue that they should have been consulted on in the first place. Communities shouldn’t have to risk their safety or break the law to protect significant ecosystems or just simply have their voices heard.”

Berry responds by asking, “How does he define community? How does he define consultation? Just how many people over how large an area should each property owner ask? How long should you wait for everyone to have their say? Should everything you do on your property require this approval or just the things that he considers to be important? Once you start applying poorly thought out ideas to public policy, you open the floodgates to the destruction of important ownership rights.

“In any case it is absolutely none of the community’s business what happens to this tree because its felling does not violate anybody else’s property rights. Those who claim we need to protect our kauri need to remind themselves this particular kauri is not owned by them.

“Onerous environmental regulation and cumbersome consents processes delay and increase the cost of land development. This causes over-priced housing, unaffordable rents and the sort of poverty Mr. Tavares no doubt also expects the Government to fix.”

ENDS

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