All that talk of Kauri seems to have uprooted some further protester discord.

I can totally see why protesters would be so vehemently against the removal of ancient Kauri stumps from Kaitaia’s wetlands – those stumps have been there for a long time.

That was the reason. They’ve been there for a long time.

See, as a protester you must be against anything related to change; you must relinquish the desire for progress in any form, especially if it results in somebody’s financial gain.

Seriously though, this ancient Kauri is beautiful wood. It has the potential to be fashioned into exquisite tabletops, bench-tops, cabinets, or other furniture. Why anyone would rather this amazing timber be left to lie at the bottom of a swamp for another couple of thousand years when it could be put to good use above land, admired and treasured, is beyond me.

Protesters, ecologists, conservationists, greenies or whatever the hell you lot like to be called, it’s time you woke up and started looking to the future. Not everything can always be the same as it ever was. Think logic. Think practicality.

Think sense.

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Cody Greening

Photography by Tim Burr