New Te Mata track resolution not to everyone's satisfaction

An agreement between Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi and Craggy Range yesterday aimed at closing controversy over the Te Mata Peak track has instead inflamed Waimarama mana whenua, who say it goes against iwi agreements.

Ngāti Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana, Craggy Range winery director Mary-Jeanne Hutchinson and Craggy Range chief executive Michael Wilding announced yesterday that the two parties were to buy 28ha of land from the Drabble family, which would enable an alternative track to be built on the eastern face of the peak.

The area which Craggy Range and Ngāti Kahungunu have purchased takes up a large chunk of the eastern face of Te Mata peak.

Wilding said the current track would be closed and a cultural impact study would guide the new track.

"Now we own the ridgeline we can expand the walk along there, assuming there are no areas of cultural significance," Wilding said.

"It will be a longer but more culturally sensitive walk," said Hutchinson.

They said a new track would enable iwi to tell the stories of the seven faces of Te Mata and Rongokako.

"There's very little knowledge about the cultural history of that area...will also know the history from the many perspectives of the different marae who each tell a different story about Te Mata and Rongokako," Tomoana said.

For mana whenua the priority was to remove the track, as endorsed at a hui-a-iwi on Saturday last week, attended by about 100 people, he said, adding that there were a lot of positives to the new solution.

However, Florence Karaitiana, who traced her whakapapa to Waimarama Marae and was part of recent protests against the track, said Tomoana had "made a big mistake".

Florence Karaitiana was fielding multiple calls yesterday from local mana whenua unhappy with the agreement. Photo / Paul Taylor

She attended the hui-a-iwi on Saturday and said the announcement yesterday went against what had been agreed at the hui, which was to have no track at all.

"I'm very disappointed - at that hui we did not tell Ngahiwi to go away and start another track - we had a strong stance on that. There's a lot of unhappy whanau - Ngahiwi has made a big mistake."

Yet Tomoana said the decision meant iwi were now the landowners and had more control.

He said the intention on behalf of the iwi was to eventually put the land ownership into the hands of local hapu.

Wilding said the land would be purchased in a trust, the benefactors of which would be Ngāti Kahungunu and the Hawke's Bay community.

The aim was to close off the existing track, with work on remediation starting in spring when the roots of new seeds and grasses would hold.

Wilding said the track would be closed as soon as possible.

The newly purchased land would also allow for a carpark at the bottom of the current track for 25 vehicles.

Tomoana said the agreement had leapfrogged Hastings District Council's initiative to form a Te Mata track reference group as announced by Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst on Wednesday.

Hazlehurst said the agreement was consistent with the current process council was undertaking with other stakeholders.

"The three-phase approach, which includes a cultural assessment and landscape assessment, will inform the work Craggy Range winery and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated are doing on the design of the track."

She said it was likely that public notification would be required for the resource consent of a new track.

Te Mata Peak People's Track Society Incorporated chairman George Williams said, while it was nice to see the relationship between Craggy Range and Ngāti Kahungunu was on the mend, it was disappointing that the inclusive process that had been under way since last Friday had been side-stepped.

"It's positive and encouraging but it does not address the fact a process was being worked on with multiple parties – the first phase involving a cultural assessment, the second an assessment of the different track options, and then consultation.

"The second phase is suddenly upon us now with this new agreement – where does that leave those involved in the process to date?

"I am also confused by the council's initial press statement on Wednesday that states this, and then a new one yesterday that supports this new initiative, which I doubt has full support of everybody."

Te Mata Park Trust chairman Mike Devonshire said the agreement signified a positive turning point in ensuring that cultural impact and awareness was of prime consideration, as well as reflecting the recreational benefit that a new track would bring to the region.