Controversial Auckland property developer sentenced to jail for 'brutal' damage to native trees

Friday, 26 January 2018

Auckland man Augustine Lau's property developments have been the subject of multiple Environment Court and District Court battles.

A controversial property developer jailed for two-and-a-half months for damaging native trees is just the tip of the iceberg, a property lawyer says.

Augustine Lau, who has previously come under fire for multiple issues at his building sites throughout Auckland, appeared in the Auckland District Court for sentencing this week.

Lau was previously ordered to pay court costs over unconsented works at this south Auckland property, where sewage was discharged directly into a nearby stream.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of using land in contravention of regional and district rules under the Resource Management Act.

Auckland Council said he damaged seven protected native trees – six pōhutukawa and one totara – at a Waiwera property, despite multiple warnings to stop.

* 'Slumsville' Auckland developer must pay $90K costs, Environment Court rules

* Developer's property bulldozed at ratepayers' expense**

Judge Paul Kellar said Lau's purpose in damaging the trees was financial gain, because the views resulting from removal of the trees would have significantly enhanced the value of the property.

It was 'hard to imagine a more deliberate case', he said.

Property lawyer Tim Lewis said he had seen numerous instances of Auckland developers removing or damaging native trees, but had never seen anyone imprisoned for it.

'I guess the council is trying to send a bit of a message on that front,' he said.

'I think it's a good thing, because we need to be preserving our native environment – enough of this has happened over the years that it's good to see the council taking it seriously.'

He said he had seen developers remove native trees from properties before council assessments were carried out or resource consents lodged, meaning council staff were unaware the trees had ever existed.

'They'll just bulldoze ahead, to the detriment of the Auckland community.'

The fines normally handed down to those who were caught were 'minimal', he said.

'For these guys, a fine isn't a deterrent. When you're dealing with multi-million dollar apartments, or multi-million dollar dwellings, a fine of $20,000 or $30,000 is negligible in relation to the profits the developers stand to make.

'Auckland will be more and more intensified in coming years, so [this ruling is] a timely reminder for developers that the council is going to take this seriously.'

Squirrel Group chief executive John Bolton said he had seen plenty of developers fined for damaging native trees, but, like Lewis, had never seen one sent to prison.

He said it was good to see developers would be punished if they disregarded the law.

'[The] council can be a bit painful, and sometimes when you're trying to make things happen they can be frustrating, but this guy is a total cowboy, isn't he.

'Giving cowboys a bit of prison time is not a bad idea.'

Lau was previously fined $127,500 for depositing hazardous fill near a waterway, and ordered to pay $90,000 court costs after building eight temporary houses that flushed human faeces directly into a stream.

The buildings were later demolished at ratepayers' expense after Lau disregarded an enforcement order, the council said.

Environment Court judgments released in 2016 found Lau also subdivided a Mt Albert property, converted a garage into a house and relocated houses in Paremoremo without resource consent.

He was accused by neighbours of building a 'slumsville' by 'jamming' relocatable houses onto properties and filling them with tenants.

In 2016, Lau told Stuff the issue was with the 'inefficiency' at Auckland Council, and the 25-year-old Resource Management Act was no longer fit for purpose.

'They can say I'm a slumlord or anything they want, but I don't care,' he said.

'I know that under the current rules I'm not favourable at all. But I'm the first person to do the revolution.'

At sentencing, Judge Kellar said describing Lau's attitude as poor would be an understatement.

He had shown 'little respect to council officers' and 'flagrant disregard' for the consenting process.

The seven trees were all large, mature specimens, and some were over 100 years old.

Four of the trees were seriously damaged, with only the base of the trunk remaining. The damage to the trees was 'brutal', and all would die as a result of Lau's actions, Judge Kellar said.

Steve Pearce, the council's manager for regulatory compliance, said Lau was issued with a stop work notice in October 2013.

However, in June 2014, on Lau's instructions, a contractor broke the trunks of four of the trees, and broke 'a number of large branches' off three others, Pearce said.

A member of the public laid a complaint, and council staff visited the site to investigate.

'They found Mr Lau supervising the contractor in an attempt to knock down one of the pohutukawa trees that branches had been broken from. The contractor was told to stop with the work immediately,' Pearce said.

'Mr Lau said the trees were being felled because they had been damaged by a recent storm and were unsafe, however we observed that the storm damage to the trees was confined to some small limbs and did not present any immediate risk to people or property.'

Pearce said it was rare for the council to take enforcement issues to court, and even rarer for it to seek imprisonment for offenders.

'The deliberateness of his offending and the significance of the effects left us with no option.'