Lake Waikaremoana. File picture
A LAKE Waikaremoana iwi will meet today to decide how far it will go to enforce a “ban on activity” at the lake and its surrounds.
In the lead-up to having grievances heard in the Wairoa Maori Land Court on June 28, members of the Ngati Ruapani iwi say that for four days from June 25 they will place a rahui “banning all activities” on the lake and adjacent lands.
Both the Tuhoe iwi and the Wairoa-Waikaremoana Trust Board — in which ownership has been vested — say Ruapani does not have a mandate to impose such restrictions.
Tuhoe governing body, Te Uru Taumatua, has issued a statement saying that “these are individuals who do not represent a Ruapani opinion.”
However, a Ruapani iwi member told The Gisborne Herald that Tumanako Waiwai, who signed the rahui declaration, does represent the iwi and will be at today’s meeting to decide how the rahui will be “enforced”.
The iwi member says the group’s claims are simple — Ruapani wants its original ownership to the lake and surrounds restored rather than being covered under the Tuhoe Treaty of Waitangi settlement.
It also wants the money paid to Tuhoe and the Trust Board in lease fees.
Ruapani’s application to the Maori Land Court addresses what members believe is an error made by the court in 2000 when the title of the lake bed was transferred to two trust boards.
“Just give our lake back. It doesn’t belong to Tuhoe or to any trust. It belongs to us,” the iwi member says.
“Nobody can tell us that we don’t have the mandate, because we are the rightful owners and if we have to enforce the rahui, then that’s what we will do.”
In issuing the rahui notice this week, Mr Waiwai says that tribal members “will oversee and strictly enforce this rahui for the four-day period that will end on June 29”.
“We seek full co-operation and support from all members of the public during this time and will work closely with all stakeholders in the region to ensure minimum disruption.”
A “pou rahui” (post) will be placed beside the lake to signal the start of the period. Karakia (prayer) will be performed when the rahui is lifted.
“This step has been taken to protect people and property during a particularly tumultuous political and socially disruptive time for Ngati Ruapani, Ngai Tuhoe and Kahungunu descendants of the original owners.”
Scheduled from next Saturday, the proposed rahui, if recognised by the public and “enforced” by its proponents, could have a big impact on hunters, trout fishermen and recreational users such as visitors from all over the globe who use the walking tracks around Lake Waikaremoana.
The Gisborne Herald understands that, while there are small pockets of Maori private land around the lake edge, the Waikaremoana Holiday Park is on ground leased to the Tuhoe/Wairoa-Waikaremoana partnership, as is the lake bed itself, while the Crown leases the strip around the lake to ensure public access to the water and walking tracks.