We all love local battlers, and Piers Barney is a poster boy for local battlers everywhere.
Most people would look at some rundown, old houses on an overgrown plot of land and think 'eyesore', but Mr Barney thinks 'opportunity'.
On Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf, there is a jetty that is a hazard and buildings that are falling apart.
They are DoC Houses on DoC land and they are going to ruin.
But after decades of decay, there is suddenly a clamour for the sad-looking houses.
It would be a huge job but Mr Barney wants them.
It comes down to a question of who owns public land, how should it be used, and what happens if nothing is being done with?
Watch the video for the full Story report.
