Brian Rudman: It's sweetness and light when lawyers left in dark

The unseasonably early spring weather is bringing out the best in everyone. Today, as I wrote on Wednesday, the region's leaders are expected to rise above their parochial barricades and hand ownership of the old America's Cup village to Auckland City without expecting cash in return.

Meanwhile, earlier in the week it was all sweetness and light at the Transit New Zealand authority meeting, as far as Mt Roskill was concerned. Indeed, from all accounts it was a textbook example of how much progress can be made when the lawyers are kept locked in the dog box.

Not only was earlier talk of parading the matter through another money and time-wasting session in the courts firmly buried, but there was even a decision taken to consult the Auckland Volcanic Cones Society over the redesign of State Highway 20 where it impacts on the mountain.

Miraculously, the state road builder's boffins also presented plans showing how they could easily divert the road further north and around the cone, something Transit has argued for nearly a decade was an impossibility. But not being of a churlish nature, and being full of the joys of an early spring, I'll choose to celebrate this volte-face as the wondrous miracle that it is.

Battle-hardened cones society spokesman Greg Smith is more circumspect, welcoming Transit's new direction but adding, "the understanding of the society is that Transit must comply with the letter of the act, not just the intention".

The act he is referring to is the long-forgotten 1915 law, which the society unearthed just over two months ago, designed to prevent further destruction of Auckland's unique volcanic cone field. It's proved as effective and fast in halting Transit's bulldozers as a handful of sand in the fuel tank. Of course, the road-builder's embarrassed lawyers have fought hard to save face (they missed this rather crucial little law in their years of costly litigation) by arguing the ancient act doesn't apply to Transit.

It's an argument that Transit chairman Alan Bickers says has now been firmly shelved. He says seeking a declaratory judgement in the High Court over whether Transit was bound by the 1915 act would have been interesting in an academic sense, but that the board decided it would rather pursue the practical solution.

"It would be interesting to talk about the application of the act, but the intent of the act is there and that's why we're trying, irrespective of talking about whether it applies to us or not."

He said, "We take our statutory responsibilities seriously but, beyond that, we take our wider responsibilities to the community seriously. I mean our track record in environmental performance in many parts of New Zealand is outstanding."

So much is this the season of good cheer and bonhomie, that Transit is even willing to consult with the cones society. Of course it is easy to get over-excited about this. Legally, Transit has to get the cones society's approval anyway for changes to the existing consent or risk lengthy hearings.

In fact, the real breakthrough would come if Transit consulted the cone people during the redesign.

The cone society says its landscape architect, Stephen Brown, would be an obvious choice. He's been involved in the project from the start, originally working on the regional council's submission until it gave up on the mountain.

As I said at the beginning, Transit's engineers have suddenly whipped from out of their sleeves a solution that appears to deal with the major objections of those fighting to protect the cones. I say appears, because design work continues and no drafts of work in progress have been issued.

Key changes involve an end to plans for two vertical faces cut into the side of the mountain - one more than 11m high. The roadway will be moved up to 6m north - not nearly as far out as the activists want - and the vertical scars will be replaced by 40 degree slopes following natural contours. One source says there will even be an attempt to reinstate a slope, removed many years ago in the creation of the local tennis club.

Naturally enough, Mr Smith needs convincing that the changes will work, but says of the plans "as you drive past it would be good to see the cone rather than a big horrible wall in your face. If it's done properly it could look quite dramatic."

He's sure if they got together with Transit "in a positive way, we could come up with something quite stunning for Auckland.

"The cones are outstanding natural features and that's what we've got to work towards. I think we're moving in that direction. There has to be give and take and the society already has done that."

We can only hope now that the spring thaw continues and the Transit engineers either willingly, or under pressure from their masters, bring the society and its consultants into the redesign process.

That way we might end up with a motorway, and a mountain. And smiles all round.