Mels Barton
The Panel Plus for 27 August 2025
An extra half hour of The Panel with Wallace Chapman, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Emile Donovan. Then: locals in the Auckland suburb of Beachlands are upset that a group of pohutukawa… Audio
Kauri dieback continues to ravage our native giant
Kauri dieback disease is threatening the survival of our kauri trees - it's well known about in West Auckland where a rahui has been in place over the Waitakere Ranges for more than two years since… Audio
Kauri dieback trespassers endangering recovery for Kauri
Kauri dieback secretary Mels Barton talks about why its so disappointing and detrimental to fighting kauri dieback when people access closed tracks around Auckland. Audio
Do we need to pay more attention to our urban fauna?
Trees in our cities are disappearing at an alarming rate, and not too many people seem concerned about it. Dr Mels Barton from the Tree Council joins us to explain why it's a problem - and what we can… Audio
MPI 'doing nothing' on kauri dieback - Tree Council
An independent panel has been set up to try to strengthen efforts to protect kauri from dieback disease. It will be tasked with providing advice about how to better deal with the management of the… Audio
Look out for the yellow flowers
The Tree Council is now calling on others in Auckland to get in touch if they suspect they have a Yellow Pōhutukawa in their garden or neighbourhood. Audio
Auckland Council to vote on kauri protection
Auckland Council's environment committee will decide whether to close the Waitakere Ranges to the public in an attempt to slow the spread of a disease that is killing kauri trees. One in five trees in… Audio
Trees cut down in Avondale
Mels Barton of the Tree Council talks about what went wrong in the Unitary plan leading to protected trees getting the chop in Auckland. Audio
Border control inadequate, trees at risk - lobby group
The conservation and tree protection organisation The Tree Council, says a new fungal disease wiping out Hawaii's native pohutukawa could easily spread to New Zealand because our border control is so… Audio
Disease rates spark fear kauri could be extinct within 20 years
Auckland Council figures show that from 2011 to 2016 the spread of kauri dieback disease has more than doubled in the Waitakere Ranges. In some areas, like Piha, up to almost 60 percent of trees are… Audio
