A fire which destroyed the sales office for a Matauri X trust subdivision at Matauri Bay has been linked to a long-running dispute between local hapu and the developers.
The suspected arson occurred at about 3:30am on Saturday.
Kaeo chief fire officer Lindsay Murray said the steel frame of the office was all that was left by the time firefighters arrived. The fire appeared to have started at the rear of the building, he said.
Police are investigating.
Local resident and former Minister for Maori Affairs Dover Samuels, who is the lead shareholder for the trust, linked it to the dispute which followed the trust's investment - without shareholders' approval - of $2.5 million in a water bottling venture which failed in 2001.