A family member of victims from the Erebus crash is appalled by the Auckland mayor's comments about a planned national memorial in the city.
Forty-three years ago today, an Air New Zealand scenic flight over Antarctica crashed into the side of Mount Erebus killing all 257 people onboard; New Zealand's largest peace time loss of life.
In an editorial published yesterday, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown referred to the proposed memorial as a "a huge concrete thing" and said it should be near the airport to remind people there is a risk in flying.
David Allan, whose parents and sister Jane died in the Erebus crash, told Checkpoint it was "extremely distressing" and frustrating to be in this situation with no memorial four decades on from the tragedy.
"We just want to get on and have a memorial as was approved a couple of years ago."
David Allan Photo: Supplied
He was also annoyed by Brown's comments.
"The whole process has been conducted over some time to get all the thoughts of the families as to what they would desire and the nature of the memorial, and the most important thing being simply that it had the names of all those that were lost, that's not recorded anywhere, and that it be in a park-like environment and not in the cemetery.
"Yeah, I think his comments are cruel, really.
"I don't think people realise just how distressed some people are at the moment.
"I can tell you I have one person today who's just absolutely distraught and can't even mention the names of those she lost without being incredibly distressed. So they need to understand how deep this goes for people."
Earlier today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern doubled down on her commitment to deliver a national memorial for the Erebus families.
That said the project's stalled, with a council committee delaying its decision around use of the rose garden.
Listen to the full interview here
Allan believed the mayor should speak to councillors opposing the memorial if he did not want taxpayers' money to be wasted on legal action, as he indicated in his editorial.
"I find it worrying in a sense about our society. I just think we've had our worst civil disaster ever - 257 lives lost - and we can't even bring ourselves together to put a memorial up."
On claims the memorial would change the tone of the park, Allan said that was "an illogical, factually incorrect and emotive statement".
"The memorial is going in a position that is less than 1 percent of the park. It would be a place to gather, honour and respect those lost. It's an asset for the community. It educates, records and reminds people."