Auckland Council’s recently approved 10 year plan, the Recovery Budget, has some good news for increasing the tree canopy of Auckland.
Backed by a one-off 5% rates rise, an additional $14m will be invested in growing our urban and rural forests, including:
• planting for up to 11,000 mature street trees;.
• partnering with community to provide up to an additional 200,000 native seedlings per year to support council projects, plus community and marae planting programmes; and.
• an additional 200 hectares of native forest on regional parks.
The priority on trees is one of the reasons I supported the budget. Surveying is under way to determine locations for street trees, and the local board areas with the lowest canopy cover will be targeted first. This is on top of the planting programmes and ecological restoration already under way and in addition to the Mayor’s 1.5 million trees initiative.
In response to the draft Recovery Budget consultation a consistent concern raised by submitters was the need to protect urban trees. That’s not a surprise – since the general tree protection rules were removed by the National government in 2012 there are limited restrictions on chopping down large trees on private land. I share the concern that, in a climate emergency, the fate of urban trees has to be very carefully managed.
Last year, Auckland Council signed off Te T-aruke--a-T-awhiri – Auckland’s Climate Plan, which included the undertaking to “grow and protect our rural and urban ngahere (forest) to maximise carbon capture and build resilience to climate change”. The Recovery Budget backs this up with new funding to contribute to our goal of reducing Auckland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.
A recently updated council report provides a cautiously optimistic indication about overall tree coverage despite the removal of tree protection rules almost a decade ago. It is concerning to see the removal of any large trees but we do not have a “massacre” on our hands. However, the report also shows we have a lot more to do to achieve the Urban Ngahere (Forest) Strategy goal of 30% tree cover by 2050, especially in the five local board areas that are currently under the 15% minimum goal.
Although our advocacy continues to central government to reinstate blanket tree protection powers as part of the RMA review, I want to see council use the limited tree protection powers available. There are over 550 notable trees waiting to be scheduled in the Auckland Unitary Plan and the Auckland District Plan when resources permit.
I worked with Cr Cathy Casey to secure agreement in the Recovery Budget that “over the next year, scoping work programmes will provide greater protection to notable trees including actions from council itself and from the government in terms of restoring provisions for comprehensive protection for notable trees”. This scoping work will provide the basis for identifying the funds needed in the annual budget 22/23 for scheduling notable trees.
Recently I have been at the Local Government NZ AGM with the Mayor and Chair Richard Northey, advocating for the return of tree protection rules. Auckland successfully secured support for a remit that LGNZ advocate for the reinstatement of general tree protection in the RMA and advocate to use the current RMA reform process to ensure these changes are carried through into new legislation.
It’s currently tree planting season. It has been great to join local board members and community volunteers at the planting events happening in Waitemat-a. (PIPPA COOM)
pippa.coom@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Published 6 August 2021
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