A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little has expressed his “utmost concern” at the continued closure of Te Urewera national park.
Te Urewera was closed by Te Urewera board at the beginning of Covid-19 Alert Level 4 this year.
In November, Te Urewera board chair Tamati Kruger announced the park would remain closed until late January to allow vulnerable local communities the opportunity to prepare for a post-Covid elimination world.
Mayor Little has now sent a letter to the Prime Minister, Government Ministers and the Leader of the Opposition.
“I write with the utmost concern over the continued closure of Te Urewera which is within the Wairoa district,” he wrote.
“The Wairoa District Council is receiving constant complaints and queries from tangata whenua/local people and visitors around the Tūhoe Te Uru Taumatua decision to close Te Urewera.
“Te Urewera is a jewel in our district, yet access to this stunning natural asset has been withheld from our locals and visitors since early August.”
Mr Little said the Wairoa District Council had not received direction or guidance from central government or Tūhoe Te Uru Taumatua.
As such the council was “bearing the brunt of complaints”.
Mr Little has previously written to Minister for Crown Relations Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis and East Coast MP Kiritapu Allan raising concerns.
“Yet still Te Urewera remains closed.
“We need answers. All I have seen so far is a blame game between Tūhoe Te Uru Taumatua and the Government, which is resulting in our people suffering.
“In this Covid environment, I would have thought the Government would have been making as many destinations available for public access as possible as availability of more holiday locations dilutes Covid risk at intense hot spots and boosts the economies across the country.
“The Wairoa i-Site receives hundreds of inquiries regarding Te Urewera every week so you can imagine the impact this closure is having, and the resources our council is investing in a decision that has nothing to do with us.
“This closure means our local whānau have nowhere to go and local businesses are suffering.
“Nobody seems to want to do anything about this issue or cares about the unintended economical impacts the closure is having on the Wairoa economy.
“The government needs to take leadership, provide messaging for our public and work with Tūhoe Te Uru Taumatua to get Te Urewera open now — not at the end of January, if that even happens, once our captive visitor market has gone.”
Te Urewera board is responsible for speaking for Te Urewera, which was recognised as a legal personality in its own right by Te Urewera Act in 2014. The board exercises legal authority under the Act, including responsibilities for health and safety and Te Urewera's pandemic response.
Mr Kruger told The Gisborne Herald the board had previously expressed its gratitude during this time for the patience and sacrifice of the many New Zealanders “who love Te Urewera”, and remained grateful and humbled by the widespread support for its decision.
“Health and safety will continue to be the paramount considerations in terms of access to Te Urewera during the summer.
“Final decisions about re-opening and subsequent access will be made with reference to the comprehensive Covid response plan for Tūhoe communities developed by Te UruTaumatua (the Tūhoe iwi authority). Factors that will be considered include vaccination levels and up-to-date information from regional hospitals — Whakatane, Rotorua, Wairoa, and Gisborne — about their capacity to handle active cases.
“Te Uru Taumatua has developed a vaccination workforce as well as providing transport and drop-in centres in its iwi clinics. It is also investing in dedicated isolation and quarantine facilities and equipment, to match the standards of MIQ facilities.
“Te Urewera Board, Tūhoe and the Department of Conservation remain committed to providing Te Urewera as a place for public use and enjoyment, for recreation, learning and spiritual reflection. The board and Tūhoe communities look forward to welcoming back visitors.
On Mr Little's specific assertions, he said Te Urewera board decided on the temporary closure, not Te Uru Taumatua or government ministers, in line with its responsibilities for public safety under Te Urewera Act.
“The temporary closure is not about ‘game playing', but protecting remote vulnerable communities and visitors, through Covid-preparedness and, during this time, infrastructure maintenance.
“Te Urewera does not sit ‘in the Wairoa District' but within four local territorial authorities. While Wairoa township benefits economically from visitors travelling through it to enjoy Te Urewera recreation and locals understandably enjoy the peace and remoteness of the area, that cannot take precedence over the needs of the four local DHBs and the communities that are vulnerable in case of a Covid outbreak without adequate preparation.
“For example, Rotorua Hospital, closest to Ruatāhuna, is a four-hour ambulance trip over gravel roads, and has four ICU beds.
“Many huts would be essentially impossible to retrieve sick trampers from.
“People throughout New Zealand have had to make extraordinary sacrifices as a result of the fight against Covid — for example, Auckland was locked down for 15 weeks. While Te Urewera communities prepare themselves, it is not an unreasonable compromise to ask recreational users to cut short their usual summer season by a matter of weeks.
“We must all play our part, and everyone is making sacrifices. Tūhoe have also asked whānau to hold off visiting their families in Te Urewera over the holidays.”