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The Tūpuna Maunga Authority has taken steps to appeal a court decision refusing it permission to replace 345 exotic trees on Ōwairaka Mt Albert in Tāmaki Makaurau with 13,000 native trees and plants.
Earlier this month, the authority indicated it may dispute the finding, and now it has formally sought leave to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
“It is vital for the authority to have a decision from the highest court in the land to provide clarity surrounding its co-governance decision-making powers to manage the Tūpuna Maunga," authority chair Paul Majurey (Ngāti Maru) said Wednesday.
In early March, the Court of Appeal set aside the authority’s decision to fell the trees saying proper consultation had not been carried out and Auckland Council should have publicly notified the resource consent application.
"We had to make our own decision on whether to appeal,” Majurey said.
The authority, which co-governs Auckland’s mountain reserves on behalf of 13 Tāmaki Makaurau iwi, announced plans to replace the Ōwairaka trees with natives in November 2019.
More:
345 exotic trees get the chop (11 November 2019)