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PM ‘absolutely committed’ to construction of National Erebus Memorial

Work was due to start in March, but it has been repeatedly delayed due to protests. Adam Jacobson reports.

PRIME Minister Jacinda Ardern is reassuring wha¯ nau of those killed in the Erebus disaster that construction of a memorial will go ahead despite protests.

Today marks 42 years since Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into Mt Erebus in Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board.

Ardern told the families she remained ‘‘absolutely committed’’ to the construction of the National Erebus Memorial at Dove-Myer Robinson Park in Auckland.

‘‘The long wait you have all endured is uppermost in our minds,’’ Ardern wrote in a letter to the families.

A copy was provided to Sunday News.

Ardern was writing in her capacity as the associate minister for arts, culture and heritage.

Construction was due to start in March, but has been repeatedly delayed by protesters who are concerned the memorial would harm the giant 180-yearold po¯ hutukawa – known as Te

Ha¯ – nearby.

On Thursday a group of them were handed eviction notices by Auckland Council.

Ardern said she was concerned the delays in construction were causing the families ‘‘frustration and distress’’.

‘‘I am confident construction of the memorial will be completed in 2022,’’ Ardern said.

The families have also issued an open letter venting their frustrations at the memorial’s delays ‘‘because of the objections of a few’’.

‘‘Imagine the Pike River families or the Christchurch earthquake families having to justify why a memorial should go ahead on a slope in a public park,’’ the letter read.

‘‘Then imagine that the memorial in question relates to the largest loss of life this country has ever seen outside of war.’’

Dan Moloney, son of Nick Moloney, who was the crew flight engineer, said the memorial had been designed to reflect the ‘‘size and impact’’ of the disaster and the resulting effect on the lives of all those involved.

‘‘We acknowledge that those that never returned are still with us today in spirit and soul and they live on through their children and families,’’ Moloney said.

The memorial would provide a place for ‘‘all to visit, reminisce, reflect and focus on the great loss, deep emotions

‘She visited the rose gardens every year with my father, and he continued to do so alone for the next 25 years.’ DAVID LING, WHOSE MOTHER ALISON DIED IN THE DISASTER

tempered by time, and the pain and anger of those affected,’’ he said.

‘‘It is a spiritual place in which our joy and grief will meet in the memory of those we love, and it will honour the gratitude to those that risked their lives and made sacrifices in the aftermath.’’

David Ling, who lost his mother, Alison, in the disaster, said the support of local iwi

Nga¯ ti Wha¯ tua O¯ ra¯ kei made the memorial all ‘‘the more special’’ to himself, immediate family, and his mother’s relatives and descendants.

In March, Nga¯ ti Wha¯ tua

O¯ ra¯ kei Trust chair Marama Royal said ‘‘since day one’’ the iwi had been ‘‘supportive of their [the families’] journey to have a place to reflect and remember’’.

‘‘We as tangata whenua understand very deeply the need to be able to grieve and acknowledge respectfully those we have lost,’’ Royal said.

Manatu¯ Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage chief executive Bernadette Cavanagh said she was disappointed by the current situation at the memorial work site and the way ‘‘this small number of protesters were behaving’’.

The families of the Erebus victims were at the ‘‘heart of our continued mahi to create the memorial’’, Cavanagh said.

‘‘It is our view that the concerns held by protesters have been fully addressed.’’

She wanted to provide assurance the large po¯ hutukawa near the worksite would not be harmed.

Ling said his mother’s ‘‘oneday trip of a lifetime’’ had been followed by more than 40 years of trauma and difficulty for the family left behind.

‘‘She visited the rose gardens every year with my father, and he continued to do so alone for the next 25 years,’’ he said.

‘‘To have her recognised at last, there along with her fellow passengers, the crew and the recovery team personnel would be very special to us all and help bring a sense of closure.’’

Auckland mayor Phil Goff said he was ‘‘distressed’’ at the delays protests had caused.

‘‘I am also concerned at the misinformation being spread in regard to the memorial such as the damage to the po¯ hutukawa tree, which arborists have confirmed will not be damaged at all by the memorial,’’ he said.

NEWS

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2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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