Pair fined $131,000 for felling damaged tree

Two men who cut down a tree which had been damaged by a deadly tornado have now been handed the bill for not getting permission - and it’s come in at a hefty $131,000.

The Norfolk Island pine tree was considered “notable” under the Auckland Council’s planning rules.

Its removal means that property developer Zulfikar Ali can now get an extra residential unit on the site he wants to develop but it’s come at a cost.

Ali has been fined $72,000 and his company, Z Ali Investments Ltd (ZAIL), has been fined $24,000 following its removal.

The man Ali employed to cut the tree, Rakesh Kumar, has been fined $35,000.

“I am ... persuaded that the offending of Mr Ali and ZAIL is commercial in nature,” Judge Sheena Tepania said in imposing the fines in the Auckland District Court.

“While his actions were not premeditated it can be reasonably inferred that he took advantage of the circumstances the tornado provided,” she said.

“Mr Ali accepts that he planned to develop the site and wanted to remove the tree as part of that development.”

The tree was damaged by a tornado which hit South Auckland about 8.30am on June 19, 2021, killing one person and leading to about $32 million in insurance claims.

The tornado lifted roofs, broke windows and downed power lines and trees. A worker at a freight hub was killed and two injured when several containers were blown over.

About 1200 homes in Papatoetoe were affected by the storm that morning. Sixty were deemed to be uninhabitable.

ZAIL owned the property at 225 St George’s Street, Papapatoetoe, on which the 25m to 30m pine tree used to stand.

After the tree was removed, Ali applied for consent to build 16 residential units on the 2332sq m section.

Fifteen units would have fitted under another proposal he had drawn up when the tree was still in place.

Both men and the company pleaded guilty to carrying out “unconsented alterations” to the pine tree when they were prosecuted by the Auckland Council under the Resource Management Act.

Judge Tepania said the tree was considered “among the most significant and important trees in Auckland”.

“The effects of the loss of this tree should not be minimised,” she said.

Ali hired Kumar to inspect the tree after the tornado, and he found it split and damaged about 15m from the ground.

Kumar considered that it was necessary to cut the tree above that point and take out some damaged branches below - work that would have been permitted to make it safe.

But Ali also instructed Kumar to take down the rest of the tree, assuming that it was dead. In fact, the tree was alive and would have been able to regrow.

By the time a council officer got there, three days after the tornado and in response to public complaints, all the branches had been removed and 80 per cent of the girth of the trunk had been cut.

The tree was at risk of falling. The council officer contacted a heritage adviser who said that as it was now a hazard, the best course was to allow it to be felled.

Judge Tepania said the tree cutting was deliberate and there did not appear to be any evidence to support Ali’s assumption that the tree was dead.

The judge found that Kumar’s actions were “careless” in cutting down the tree without making proper inquiries in to its status. His culpability was lower than Ali’s.

In a separate judgment which surveyed Kumar’s financial situation, Judge Tepani maintained the fine imposed on Kumar at $35,000. However, she directed the court registrar to look in to whether his fine should be paid in instalments.

Under the Resource Mangement Act, 90% of the fines get paid to the council.

Consent has not yet been granted to develop the site into residential units.