Dog owners granted temporary reprive over off-leash ban at popular Auckland park
Photo:
RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Dog owners advocating for an off-leash area at a popular Auckland park have been granted a last minute reprieve - for now.
The High Court has granted an interim order allowing dogs to run off-leash in the bowl area of Monte Cecilia Park.
It will continue until a judicial review is heard into a decision by the Puketāpapa Local Board to
ban off-leash dogs
there as of next Friday.
The board voted four to two in favour of removing it after concerns were raised about owners letting dogs run free in areas where they were meant to be on-leash.
It is part of a wider plan to review dog rules at parks and beaches.
Acting chairperson of Dog Lovers of Monte Cecilia, Shireen Chua, told
Checkpoint
they were feeling a range of emotions in light of the decision.
"There is a sense of elation, excitement, gratitude. Our community has another day getting together, walking our parks and the Monte Cecilia bowl."
However, the victory is only temporary, with the High Court hearing now looming.
"The process from here is that the Auckland Council will have the opportunity to send through their statement of defence and that will come through by August. And then we will have a hearing in the High Court."
Chua said the group's decision to push back against the council came down to a number of reasons.
"We didn't feel heard, seen or respected. The decision that the local board took went against internal staff advice. Eighty-percent of public feedback in the strong community that was there were not heard.
"We felt that the decision was predetermined and it was made in contrary to the council's dog policy and also in breach of the council's obligations under the Local Government Act."
When the group took its argument to the council Chua said it consisted of about 1000 members, a number which has jumped to 1200 over the past few weeks.
"Predominantly it started with a whole group of us in the community here, but it's got broader than that now.
"Other dog owners in other parts of other areas have started to go, 'hey, I guess this is a really sort of important topic for all of us'."
Currently the cost of judicial review has been funded by members of the community, with the legal fees being covered pro bono.
"We intend to raise funds in order to fund the remaining part of the Judicial Review and we have got a whole bunch of folks from the community who are selling coffee for the Dog Lovers of Monte Cecilia."
The group has also received support from a dog groomer who is contributing $10 towards the judicial review for anyone that takes their dog to be groomed, as well as a Givealittle page.
One of the reasons Auckland Council proposed dog access changes at the park was due to dogs being off-leash in areas of the park where they should already be on-leash.
But Chua said since the review, the group had seen a slow shift in compliance, and was now issuing a plea to members to stick to the rules.
"As responsible dog owners, we do want to comply with the law.
"We hope to eventually also initiate a social contract...to say the park is for everyone and we want that to be the case."
General manager of Policy at Auckland Council, Louise Mason, told
Checkpoint
that as the decision was before the court, Auckland Council could not comment at this time.
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