Appeal on gondola depends on advice

Press, 29 July 1989, Page 7

Appeal on gondola depends on advice

By

MICHAEL RENTOUL

A decision by the Summit Road Society on whether to appeal against the Ministerial go-ahead for the Port Hills gondola awaits advice from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Mrs Helen Hughes. Mrs Hughes said she would take “very seriously” a request by the society to consider the recent approval for the use of the Mount Cavendish Reserve for the gondola’s top station. Mrs Hughes said her office would look at the information on which the Minister of Conservation, Mr Woollaston, based his decision. “We will also decide whether we could assist if they (the society) decide to take it to the High

Court,” she said. Mrs Hughes visited the reserve on Tuesday. She said the society’s decision on an appeal could depend on how much, if any, her office would be able to give. The society’s president, Mr Gordon Kirk, said there was a need to test the Reserves Act under which Mr Woollaston gave his consent. The Minister’s decision could set a precedent by exposing all reserves to the risk of political pressure. Mrs Hughes said the report Mr Woollaston considered before ruling was thorough. She could not say how long it would take to reply to the association as the report was received by her office only last week.