Dear Editor

I am a keen outdoors bloke and quite recently have become aware of some shenanigans going on, on public land, that will see the public prevented from using a public road, to access public land at the end of it (the Kaimanawa Forest park).

I frequent a hunting and shooting forum and quite recently have become aware through it that a local Maori Trust intends to block off a public road (the Waipakihi Road) that runs between two of its titles.  The original argument was that this is to stop people from dumping rubbish and hunting illegally.

But as the discussions developed, it turns out that this Maori Trust has issued a lease to a business to base a helicopter business close to the end of the road.

Further, the business is principally Helibiking, and guess what, the down hill mountainbike track, helicopter hanger and client kiosk were all paid for by… The Provincial Growth Fund.

Amateur sleuths on the forum have pored through WAMS and TDC land title data, and have found that the road is actually a Crown-owned road, running between two parcels of Maori land. So in theory the Maori land owners should have no sway over closing a public road.

But recent conversations with DOC Turangi indicate that the Maori Trust do indeed intend to close the road.

So in summary: Public monies are used by a private entity to close off existing public access to public land so they can make a financial benefit. 

If indeed the road is Crown land, and the business will have required a resource consent to operate, and DOC know that the Maori Trust intends to close the road, why do the public only find out about this when poles begin being concreted into the ground??

Links to the relevant evidence I have listed below:

  1. https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.nz/f12/kaimanawa-forest-park-84873/  This is the thread that all relevant evidence can be found on. Some very useful information interspersed with supposition/conjecture etc, etc. 
  2. The attached PDF is the Lake Rotoaira Forest Trust’s annual report. Page 22 shows that the Trust received Provincial Growth Fund moneys to pay for the entire exercise. 
  3. This next link takes you to the Taupo council’s website that shows legal title boundaries. Go here https://www.taupodc.govt.nz/ Click maps/mapi/scroll down/go to mapi/scroll and adjust for area/zoom in.I used junction of SH1 and Rangipo Intake Rd. Left click on road for info then click arrow and three lots of info show up, click on info.
2021_LRFT_Annual_Report_-_FINALDownload

Do with this what you will. But it sure as eggs looks like their intent is to run over roughshod over us, the general public, if the Maori Trust are going to be permitted (by whatever govt departments are legally responsible for ticking this stuff off) to close off a public road for their private profit.

Regards,

Loyal BFD reader

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