Mayor tries to see the wood for the trees

The devil, inevitably, was in the detail for Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard at the meeting. Picture / Kenny Rodger

With a redefinition of an "extraordinary" meeting of the Auckland City Council to "special" meeting (the former is a legal term, the latter a mayoral reinterpretation), Dick Hubbard called yesterday's public discussion into the Queen Street trees to order.

His first item of business was to list of few of the planting suggestions that had found their way across his desk over the Christmas period.

One correspondent had advocated planting banana trees and coconut palms "to prepare for global warming", while another supported planting "erotic" trees instead of the preferred "exotics".

One suggestion that marijuana plants be cultivated along the Golden Mile met with optimistic noises of affirmation from one member of the public.

Mr Hubbard said he shared the desire of his fellow Aucklanders to have a tree to shelter under if necessary, and for the city to be "right up there" with other centres such as Perth, Melbourne or Sydney.

He said he wanted an upgraded Queen Street to present "a new face to New Zealand", but also maintain its heritage. He noted, in time-honoured tradition, however, that "the devil is in the detail".

Despite the furore over the trees, the upgrade and the future of the city, Mr Hubbard said he was impressed with the determination of the public to fight the council's tree plan.

"I would rather be ruling a city that had too much passion, than a country that had too much apathy."

Though the meeting was a success, with all recommendations accepted and the tree protesters happy, Mr Hubbard may have another problem just around the corner:

"The next thing we have to do is get on to these paving stones," muttered one woman, talking conspiratorially with others at the door.