Natives up to task in Queen Street, says iwi

A native plant nurseryman and leading conservationist says cabbage trees or nikau palms should not be planted in Queen Street, but Auckland's Ngati Whatua says go right ahead.

Opinion continues to be deeply divided over whether the Auckland City Council should take a chainsaw to 20 exotic trees lining the city's main street and replace them with natives.

Oratia Native Plant Nursery owner Geoff Davidson thinks the exotics should stay.

"Cabbage and nikau are never going to fulfil the same role as exotics because they will never reach that sort of stature," he said. "Much as I would like to see cabbage trees and nikau, it's a matter of scale. You are talking about high-rise buildings and you need a tree that's going to be in keeping with that."

Mr Davidson is a founding trustee of the Native Forest Restoration Trust, which buys large areas of native forest to protect it from development or logging.

He was also heavily involved in the successful bid last year to get the Hauraki Gulf's Kaikoura Island into public ownership because of its suitability as a future conservation sanctuary.

He said it was unlikely either nikau palms or cabbage trees would thrive in central Auckland's harsh conditions.

But the council's plan is backed by local iwi Ngati Whatua, which said some people appeared to be suggesting the ACC was engaged in some kind of "reverse ethnic cleansing".

"We applaud the council for using some natives in what must seem to them now a bold step considering the backlash of some of the community," said Ngati Whatua's heritage and resource manager Ngarimu Blair.

"Natives are tough enough."

Mr Blair said totara, mamaku and pohutukawa were all thriving in the central city.

Native trees would also attract native birds such as tui.


For the chop

20 Exotic trees between Wellesley St and Mayoral Drive, including:

* 9 London plane
* 6 Tooth daisy bush (oleria)
* 2 Yellow poplar
* 1 Liquidambar
* 1 Claret ash
* 1 Oriental plane
* 20 Cabbage trees will be planted