My conscience led me to climb on to a digger before dawn with the intent to stop the destruction at Western Springs.
This was done in the hope of drawing attention to the lack of consultation with community over this issue. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.” This was my time.
What prompted this “elderly grandmother” to take such action? In January, as a direct result of the lack of maintenance by the Auckland Council at Western Springs, I was admitted to hospital. On discharge I attempted to contact the appropriate person to report both the incident and the need to remedy the cause before another member of the community was hurt. My experience alerted me to how dysfunctional the Auckland Council is. This experience changed me from apathy to the need to become actively community minded.
I could write pages about how I became aware of the Council’s agenda to remove mature trees from around Auckland, sell off reserves in built up areas, but the icing on the cake was what is happening at Western Springs. Never have I willingly broken the law, but I was prepared to be arrested in order to have my voice and protest heard.
Getting onto the digger was not the problem I thought it would be, as amazingly there was no security. To my surprise I soon found myself joined by a woman who I later learnt was Sarah Trotman, a local board member. She told me she had been phoned by a concerned constituent who had seen an elderly woman going into the trees. Sarah, still in her pyjamas, grabbed a coat and joined me out of concern for my safety. Sarah promised to stay, as long as I didn’t carry out my plan to climb onto the arm of the digger, and instead remain in a safer position on the digger platform.
I got to know and admire Sarah over those few hours and heard her concerns at the lack of authentic engagement with communities by Auckland Council. Sitting there as the sun rose we heard the call of a morepork from amongst the trees, and later witnessed the abundance of native bird life this area supports. All this in an inner city suburban environment the council wants to destroy.
All I ask is a decent future for our children and grandchildren. I was, and still am, prepared to be arrested if that is what it takes for my voice and protest to be heard. To quote Edmond Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
So let’s all stand united and change what we need to.
Linda Hill, Westmere
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