By ALISON HORWOOD
Conservation Minister Sandra Lee has been accused of meddling by asking for Maori-only camp grounds to be established on public land and an upgrade of a no-exit road in the Urewera National Park.
Ms Lee wants the upgrade on a little-used road leading to land owned by relatives of Maori activist Tame Iti.
Ms Lee apparently spent time in the area with Mr Iti last summer.
Her request sparked allegations of "racism" and "apartheid" by political opponents and led to a heated debate yesterday in Parliament.
An East Coast Hawkes Bay Conservation Board report tabled by former Conservation Minister Nick Smith referred to "a great deal of concern at political interference" by the minister.
The May 17 report said its chief concern was not the requests by Ms Lee but the procedure she had used.
DoC no longer maintains Maungapohatu Rd because of the high cost and low demand from the public. Some bridges on the road no longer met engineering standards for vehicles.
However, Ms Lee asked DoC to consider the "cultural importance" for visitors and to upgrade the road for $260,000, plus an annual $30,000.
The conservancy has also sought legal advice to see whether exclusive Maori camp sites - nohoanga - are possible under the law.
Ms Lee told Parliament it was not clear whether the nohoanga would be on Crown or Maori land. "No sites have been identified as yet at all."
But the report said she had asked for five sites on public conservation land around Lake Waikaremoana.
More than 5000ha of the lake bed, islands and foreshore is owned by Maori and leased to the Crown for a national park.
Ms Lee said anyone opposed to the concept of nohoanga should remember it was introduced by National in the 1996 settlement of the Ngai Tahu claim.
However, former Treaty Negotiations Minister Sir Douglas Graham said no national park land could be used and provisions were made so public access was not unreasonably excluded.
Asked whether it was appropriate to use public money to upgrade Maungapohatu Rd, she said: "I most certainly do."
The road was used by hunters, trampers and "most importantly, Tuhoe." She was not prepared to risk another Cave Creek disaster with substandard roads and structures.
But Dr Smith said the safety issue was a "smoke-screen" for a sellout to Mr Iti. The deal set a dangerous precedent and was a nationwide invitation for activists to protest.
"It effectively says that if you want more money for roading or parts of a national park for a marae, just ring Tame Iti," said Dr Smith.
Ms Lee said there were many "volatile issues" surrounding Urewera National Park, including the 1998 land occupation.
Several problems had been identified that year in a report by Dr Smith and former Maori Affairs Minister Tau Henare, but none of its recommendations were acted on.
Lee accused of political interference and racism
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