Environmentalists will be leafleting and collecting signatures for a petition outside Te Papa in Wellington today, starting at noon, as part of continued action calling for property developer Evan C. Williams to be dropped as chair of the board of the museum.

They say Williams' role at Te Papa is incompatible with being an environmental vandal in his property development next to Long Bay Okura Marine Reserve in North Auckland. The text of the leaflets, which will be handed out to visitors to the museum, is below.

The group, called the Evan C. Williams Removal Committee, will continue actions at Te Papa until he is removed from the position of chair of the board.

Leaflet Text

The current Chair of this museum, Te Papa, is an extremely wealthy property developer who is destroying one of New Zealand’s natural treasures, the Long Bay Okura Marine Reserve, just so he can make himself even more money.

Evan C. Williams is the head of Williams Land Ltd. a property development company that is tearing up ground next to the marine reverse and allowing truck-loads of dirt and fine sediment to pour into streams and enter the sea, choking the wildlife that makes its home there and destroying a national treasure that is supposed to be for everyone enjoy.

The local community first asked him nicely to not to build so many house there, then they were forced to take him to court at huge cost to the people but, even though the community won these cases, Evan C. Williams has continued his dirty development with disregard for the people, for the wildlife and for the treasure of this marine reserve.

Willliams uses his position as chair of Te Papa to increase his status as a property developer and keeps this dirty development in the shadows.

To protect the credibility of our national museum and the integrity of our nation’s treasured marine reserves, we call on the board of this museum to remove Evan C. Williams from his role immediately.

If you support us, even if you are visiting New Zealand from overseas, please sign the petition at the front doors of the museum today.

Thank you for your support,

Geoff Reid & the members of the Evan C. Williams Removal Committee

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