Court rules poison drop can go ahead
The Brook Waimarama Sanctuary in Nelson has won a High Court ruling allowing it to go ahead with a poison drop within its predator proof fence.
The Brook Waimarama Sanctuary Trust chair David Butler said it was ‘‘delighted’’ with the ruling which confirmed the legality of national pest control regulations introduced by the Environment Minister Nick Smith earlier this year.
‘‘We look forward to getting on with the operation and creating a site where the current fauna and flora can thrive and be joined in time by our rarest species lost from the area – a place for all in the region to enjoy and find inspiration.’’
However, the Brook Valley Community Group, which had taken the court action, said it had instructed its lawyer to appeal the decision.
The sanctuary had planned three aerial drops, using a total of 24 tonnes of brodifacoum-laced bait within the fence between July and October.
Smith said the ruling was ‘‘a significant win for conservation nationally’’.
‘‘The science is clear that the only way birds like kiwi, kokako, kea and kaka will survive is to effectively control pests like stoats, rats and possums that have decimated their populations.’’
Smith said the ruling confirmed that ‘‘New Zealanders can have a high degree of confidence in the safeguards on the use of poisons like 1080 and brodifacoum’’.
‘‘My hope is that the Brook Valley Community Group, having had a fair hearing in the High Court and having put the Sanctuary Trust, taxpayers and the ratepayers of Nelson to considerable expense, will accept the decision and enable the pest control operation to proceed as planned.
‘‘This issue fundamentally comes down to a choice between whether we want stoats, rats and possums or kiwi, kaka and tui in Nelson’s backyard.’’
However, on it Facebook page yesterday the group said it had instructed Nelson lawyer Sue Grey to file an appeal today.
Grey earlier said most of the group’s members supported the idea of the sanctuary but were opposed to the use of poison.
Changes made to the Resource Management Act (RMA) in April undermined the purpose of the act, which was sustainable management, she said. Each case for using poison for pest control needed to be considered on its own merits.
The High Court ruling said ‘‘the decision to promulgate the regulations for use of brodifacoum, 1080 and rotenone was properly authorised and made under law, in accordance with all required considerations’’.
Justice Churchman also agreed with the minister’s submission that sustainable management was a ‘‘balancing act’’ between competing interests, such as the wellbeing of communities against sustaining the potential of resources to meet the needs of future generations. It did not preclude the streamlining of rules around the discharge of contaminants to eradicate invasive pests.
Grey said she was ‘‘extremely surprised’’ at how the judge interpreted section 13 of the Resource Management Act and other findings.
‘‘This decision basically nationalises decision making and takes even any right of consultation away from communities around New Zealand about how their environment is managed.
‘‘If it’s out in the high country away from everywhere there may be good reason for one choice of pest control.
‘‘If it is next to a city in a local water supply near schools and kids’ playgrounds, where people keep their dogs and horses and residents have cattle and stock, then you may come up with a different solution.’’ The historic church on Haven Rd will be up for rent soon – to become a cafe – after a year’s work turned the ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.
Nelson photographer Jose Cano bought the derelict The Guards Sea Services’ boatsheds and its adjacent historic Mission to Seafarers church two years ago in a bid to renovate and save one of Nelson’s historic buildings.
Cano said the renovated building will now start a new chapter of its life as a cafe, which would be operated by someone other than himself.
He said it would be listed for rent in two weeks, and the space would open with an exhibition of Cano’s underwater photography work on ‘‘sea dancers’’ from September 1 before being tenanted.
Cano said he chose to renovate it specifically to suit a cafe because it would mean long-term tenants and ‘‘it pays for itself’’.
Originally set up by boatbuilder Jack Guard in the 1950s, the building was a seafarers chapel, before becoming an upholstery shop and a diesel engine repair workshop.
Cano said they salvaged all the wood they could from the sheds to use on the church and builder Michael Harrison spent the past year renovating the church, one wooden board and council consent at a time.
Cano said dealing with Nelson City Council through the process of renovation had been ‘‘a continuous struggle’’.
‘‘I must say that the council is not the most helpful, they treat you like a new building.
‘‘An old building is not a new building, it has its own characteristics, materials, but they want you to comply with everything like a new building.
‘‘That’s one of the reasons it’s taken so long.’’
Cano said he thought Nelson should take more care of its historic buildings, instead of tearing them down and replacing them with newbuilds.
‘‘It keeps the memories alive of old Nelson.
‘‘Really, Nelson has to think if they want to become a concrete block town of oranges and blues.’’