Brian Rudman: Banks on Blake: what a difference three months makes

Auckland Mayor John Banks said yesterday that committing ratepayers' funds towards buying Kaikoura Island as a memorial to Sir Peter Blake would be the "kiss of death" to the mayor's re-election next year.

Yet a One News-Colmar Brunton poll the night before suggests the opposite - 72 per cent of replies supported the Kaikoura proposal and only 16 per cent were for the "glass coffin" Mr Banks initially endorsed.

The good news is that at least Mr Banks is now distancing himself from the glass monstrosity. On Monday's TV One news he washed his hands of any responsibility, saying: "This is a concept driven from Wellington by the Government through the national museum, Te Papa. It is Te Papa's idea."

That is far cry from three months ago when Mr Banks couldn't resist jumping the gun to claim credit for a $15 million to $20 million "huge, significant memorial" which Auckland City and the Government "are going to be announcing ... that I think will blow your socks off" .

He said Auckland City had been negotiating with Team NZ and Lady Pippa Blake about the memorial for some time. He and Sports Minister Trevor Mallard and Lady Pippa were working on something "to keep the dream alive" for Sir Peter.

"We have something very special planned ... "

Now public opinion has forced him to abandon his "very special" ship-in-a-bottle project, the way is open for the project which the public does support.

And it couldn't have had a better launching pad than the $1 million the Government-appointed Nature Heritage Fund yesterday recommended be given to the Native Forest Restoration Trust to support its campaign to buy Kaikoura Island.

With the $2 million Mr Banks and councillor Scott Milne have seemingly committed Auckland City to spend, plus the $2.5 million Mr Mallard is offering from his coffers, we're more than halfway to the $10 million the island is estimated to cost.

Mr Banks mocks the Kaikoura scheme, saying few people would want to travel 3 1/2 hours "to see some goats". He added: "No one is going to Rangitoto Island today, and that's 15 minutes from downtown Auckland."

If Mr Banks knew more about this corner of his far-flung city - yes, Kaikoura Island, off Great Barrier, is part of Auckland City - he would have been aware that the feral goat population was eradicated in 1993.

And if he was up with Auckland City's resource management strategy for the outer islands, which includes Kaikoura, he would know that, and I quote from the official document: "The key elements of the plan's strategy ... are as follows:

"1. To secure the conservation of the special aspects of the natural environment of the outer islands for the present and future benefits of residents and visitors ... "

Buying Kaikoura Island as a memorial to Sir Peter would achieve two goals at once. Beginning a programme of restoration to the island's pre-human state would not only be a wonderful living tribute to Sir Peter's post-sailing plans, it would be carrying out Auckland City's stated strategy.

That few people go to Rangitoto is a crying shame, but hardly a fact to be scoring points off. As for seeing the length of the boat trip to Kaikoura as an obstacle, I prefer to see it as adding to the adventure for the youngsters off to plant trees. Why not a lodge there as well, so they could stay overnight?

I wrote previously of the class of Year 9 Otara students who raised money all year to pay for a tree-planting expedition to Motutapu Island and what a great experience they had. Their teacher contacted me to add: "We had spent some of our form periods (and part of our maths lesson) during the year planting native trees and tending to them at school, so a trip to a conservation island was a great way to end the year, and definitely an experience that none of them had had, nor were likely to otherwise have had."

What more can you say?

We're being told by our masters that Sir Peter would have preferred the glass coffin monument. I met him only once and don't pretend to know what sort of memorial - if any - he wanted. But given the choice of the two on offer, I can't imagine anybody opting for the official plan.

The latest news is that the politicians and Te Papa bureaucrats are going into a huddle over the next day or so to try to scale down their proposed monument. It's time they accepted it is an embarrassment few New Zealanders want. The overwhelming majority see the living memorial of Kaikoura as much more appropriate.

As for the America's Cup-winning yacht Black Magic, which was to be centrepiece in the glass box, well, it's time Te Papa lived up to its responsibilities and housed this valuable acquisition, as promised, in Auckland, but in more modest circumstances. And, like all their other exhibits, at their expense.