Kauri dieback: Man accused of breaching track closures 'thought sign was wrong'
Thursday, 29 October 2020
A man accused of walking on tracks closed due to kauri dieback at an Auckland regional park didn’t breach a bylaw because the area he walked isn’t covered by the bylaw, his lawyer claims.
Robert Armitstead’s judge-alone trial in front of Judge Lisa Tremewan continued on Thursday at Waitākere District Court where he denies three charges of breaching a Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw.
The charges relate to the entry of closed tracks in the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park, and is the first prosecution since Auckland Council closed high-risk tracks to protect forested areas from further spread of kauri dieback disease in 2018.
During the first half of the trial on September 7, Armitstead withdrew an earlier not guilty plea and admitted breaching the rules on May 14, 2019.
**READ MORE:
* Kauri dieback: Man caught allegedly breaching closed tracks ignored ranger, court hears
* Kauri dieback: More Auckland regional park tracks to open by end of year
* Waitākere Ranges tracks closed to stop kauri dieback spread vandalised
**
He denies other alleged offending said to have taken place on August 26 and September 11, 2019.
Giving evidence in his defence, Armitstead told the court he was a keen trail runner – running about 75 races in the past 10 years.
He used the Waitākere Ranges as a training base and knew it very well.
Armitstead confirmed to defence lawyer Sarah Stuart he entered the ranges on May 14, August 26 and September 11 of last year and used maps to show where he walked.
He said he saw a sign saying the track at Greenwoods Corner was closed because of kauri dieback, but he said he thought it was a mistake because he had never seen one in that location before.
Armitstead said he walked about five metres towards the track when he heard a car skid to a stop on the gravel lay-by where he had parked.
He stopped to see what had happened and saw a woman get out of a car, waving her arms and yelling at him.
The woman told him she was a kauri dieback compliance officer, and he quickly recognised her – having known the woman for about 13 years through the Piha Surf Lifesaving Club, and their kids being friends.
Armitstead said the compliance officer told him he couldn’t go down the track because of kauri dieback, but he pointed out it was a Watercare access road and said there were no kauri down there.
He continued walking down the track, thinking he was “free to go”.
Armitstead told the court he walked to the Nihotupu tramline before returning to his car.
He said he was “a little confused” when he received a trespass notice for the incident on May 29, 2019 and wrote to Auckland Council for further details.
On August 26 and September 11, Armitstead said he again entered the ranges and walked along the Nihotupu tramline.
He said it was “very common” to see people walking there, and he had disinfected his boots upon entering and exiting the ranges.
When shown images, Armitstead confirmed there were some kauri trees along the track he had walked, but said they were further in the distance, and he didn’t believe their roots intercepted the tramline.
Stuart argued Armitstead hadn’t breached the bylaw because the tramline wasn’t within the council’s authority.
Stuart said a park was defined as land invested in or administered by council but the tramline, although within the park, wasn’t owned by the council.
If it was found that the council had no authority to close the tramline, she said Armitstead must be found not guilty.
Judge Tremewan gave Stuart three weeks to provide her final submissions and a further three weeks for Auckland Council’s lawyer Brandon Watts to respond.
A hearing to determine when a decision would be made was set down for December 21.