Fears memorial park will be sold

The Government's proposed scrapping of legislation about who holds Auckland Centennial Memorial Park has upset Waitakere Ranges groups.

The 8500ha park is formed of parcels of land donated and bought by public money and its bush feeds four of the city's water supply dams.

The group's concerns about "nationalisation" of the park as a result of the change are shared by Auckland Regional Council.

It decided on Tuesday to lodge a formal protest against repealing the Waitakere provision in a section of the third bill needed to complete the legislative framework for setting up the Super City.

The council says it was unclear why the Government wished to repeal this provision, rather than leaving it in and simply replacing the reference to the "Auckland Regional Council" with "Auckland Council."

The new council takes over from the ARC and seven other local authorities on November 1.

Groups such as the Waitakere Ranges Protection Society donated more than 1000ha to add to the memorial park.

"The point is this is a special piece of land for the people of Auckland and it should be protected in perpetuity," said president John Edgar. "So we want to see the words "Auckland Council" in there because there is a possibility that the new council could divest itself of the park."

ARC parks chairwoman Sandra Coney said she was worried the repeal of the provision had escaped the attention of ranges' supporters with the period for submissions on the third bill closing tomorrow.

Those who fought for the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act in 2008 would recall how National MPs preferred nationalising the parkland.

Green Party MP David Clendon said their work would be undone by the repeal clause.

He said Waitakere MP and Social Welfare Minister Paula Bennett "buried her agenda" in the Super City bill of 184 pages.

THE SECTION TO BE REPEALED:

"The Auckland Regional Council shall continue to hold, for the purposes of a scenic park and as a memorial to commemorate the completion in the year 1940 of the first 100 years of settlement and progress in the Metropolitan District of Auckland, the land known as the Auckland Centennial Memorial Park and any other land acquired by the council or its predecessors for the purposes of that park."