Trish Deans: Devonport-Takapuna Board Chair on the proposed 'comfort women' statue being denied

A controversial statue in Auckland honouring women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army during World War II won't go ahead. 

The Devonport-Takapuna Board has voted 4 to 2 to deny the Korean Garden Trust the permission to build it at Barry's Point Reserve in Takapuna. 

More than 600 people had given feedback on the statue, including the Japanese Embassy - who opposed it. 

Devonport-Takapuna Board Chair Trish Deans says the statue was a 'political statement' - and it didn't have a place in this context. 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now a statue which was planned for a Korean garden
in Auckland has been stopped. The statue is a memorial
honoring women who were forced into sexual slavery by the
Japanese army during World War two South Korean women, obviously,
and it was gifted to New Zealand and New Zealand
by a Korean NGO, but the embassy, the Japanese embassy
objected to it and so the local board has just
killed the idea. Today, Trish Dean's is the Devenport Takapuna

(00:22):
local board chair is with us high trash, Hi, have
a hello. What is the reason for you guys having
killed off the statue idea?

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, I think you have to have a little bit
of that background to this. Initially we have a Korean
garden about twenty twenty one, and we accepted the garden.
I wasn't yes, I was on the board of that
stage on the basis that it was an acknowledgment of
the Korean and New Zealand veterans War and we were
really supporting that as a landmark. Only the next local

(00:55):
board comes along and assists that Korean initiative just to
have a really a white Stone and contributed one hundred
and forty four thousand. So now we get to our
local board. Now, what happened was this particular Korean group
not all Koreans agree in this particular trust came along

(01:18):
and said we want to put a statue there and
they went to land Advisory in Council. Now they weren't
clear about what the statue was, and so although they
got permission for land advisory, it was soon found out
that wasn't appropriate. We had to come to the board.
So it's been a long tangled mess in a sense.

(01:38):
Also in the more recent submission process that we took
out to when had responsive six hundred and seventy two individuals.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
It wasn't clear.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Also, the Korean Trust didn't make it clear that they
wanted a a plaque on the statue, so it kind
of unfolded bits and pieces which weren't helpful at all.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
But the key question is.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
This appropriate for a park a reserve in our local
board area. I understand the atrocity, there's no denying that.
But as a local board, the majority of members thought
we wanted to keep it as a war memorial. And really,

(02:23):
when you are you know these that we should be
a peaceful world, not always come back to look at
the statue and what it meant.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Why is it not appropriate to have it there?

Speaker 3 (02:40):
Why is it not because it's it's a political statement
and it's definitely a political statement from a Korean group
about Korean women in particular.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
And is it atrocity? But it's in New Zealand. Do
we need to recognize that atrocity? Do we need not
to just say in our local parts, our reserves, we
just simply want peaceful statements about our events that happen.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Okay, Trish, thank you very much, really appreciate your time.
Christian's Devenport Takapuna Local Board shed. For more from Heather
Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks it'd be
from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio