Protest Against Evictions of Wellington Council Tenants

For Immediate Release: Monday, February 11, 2002

Protest Against Evictions of

Wellington City Council Tenants

Wellington City Council to Evict Tenants to Make Way for Inner-city Bypass

Wellington City Council (WCC) are to be targeted by anti-bypass protesters on Tuesday. The Anti-Bypass Action group said that Tuesday is the day that the council are evicting one tenant to make way for the Wellington Inner-City Bypass. The Council tenant will be the first to lose their building, and dozens more properties will be evicted by the Council and Transit NZ later this month. The tenant Stagecraft Theatre was given an eviction notice on December 10th and is to be evicted tomorrow. Stagecraft Theatre is a community theatre group who used the building for performing and storage. One other tenant, a young family was to be evicted tomorrow but has been given an extension until the 11th March, 2002. The council gave into pressure over the eviction date as they had given the young family less than the legally required 90 days notice prior to eviction.

The Wellington Inner-City Bypass is a project that Transit NZ have been proposing to build since 1966, and a project that has not yet received funding approval from Transfund NZ yet the council is acting as if all the necessary funding and planning approvals have been granted.

Date: Tuesday, February 12

Time: Starting at 12:30pm

Place: Main Entrance, Wellington City Council Buildings, 101 Wakefield St.

Anti-Bypass Action spokesperson Peter Howard said: "It is outrageous that the Wellington City Council are proceeding with the destruction of a community before Transit has even received funding approval to proceed with the Inner-City Bypass." Mr. Howard further noted that with the Council ignoring tenancy laws: "The council seems to be obsessed with the bypass to the point of abusing their constituents."

Peter Howard commented on the WCC evictions and the inner-city bypass saying:"The bypass has already taken away a valuable community theatre group. If the bypass proceeds it will not just be a community theatre group that we will be losing but the heart of a community." He added that:"the bypass if built will only realistically save an average of 9 seconds travel time, but it will be at the cost of our heritage, our environment, and well over 33 million dollars."

Anti-Bypass Action is a loose coalition of people from throughout the Wellington region who propose to take up direct action and civil disobedience against the bypass in protection of our community. Peter Howard said that: We wish to tell the Council that we do not approve of Council support for the destruction of our community, we do not approve of the new bypass, and we intend to do everything we can to defend our neighbourhood."

KEY FACTS: * Transit New Zealand last year gave twelve other tenants on the "bypass" route eviction notices that take effect on 26 February 2002.

* Transit has not applied for construction funding for the proposed "bypass" and has yet to get Historic Places Trust authorisation for the project.

Contact:

Peter Howard

Anti-Bypass Action Spokesperson

Ph:(04) 380 1613 or 021 132 3330

E-mail: soursoy@tradeshall.org.nz

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