The rights of non-commercial users of Lake Taupo are untouched by the iwi deal. Photo / Paul Estcourt
The Government will pay a lump sum of about $10 million to Tuwharetoa and a further $1.5 million a year under a new deed of settlement which extends the central North Island iwi's rights regarding Lake Taupo.
Under the deal, which updates a 1992 deed giving the tribe
ownership of the lake bed, the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board will get the right to license and charge fees of commercial users of the lake and those wanting to erect new jetties or structures.
The rights of non-commercial users will remain unchanged, as will several existing Crown and private rights.
Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia said the multimillion-dollar deal was necessary to clarify rights under the 1992 deed including that Tuwharetoa owned the lake bed, and the Waikato River as far as the Huka Falls, the space occupied by the water and the airspace above it.
As well as the payments and the new licensing powers.-
* the Crown will retain ownership of its existing jetties and structures on the lake
* owners of the 91 existing private jetties, ramp moorings and other structures will also retain ownership
* the Crown will continue to manage and own the lake's trout fishery * the Crown retains the right to legislate on the lake's water and its use.
Mr Horomia said the cash payments compensated the board for a share of the revenue from things such as trout fishing licences and boating facilities it was entitled to in perpetuity. Since 1926 it had had some payment for those things, but the payments' value had declined over time.
Mr Horomia said he was pleased outstanding matters from 1992 had been sorted out.
Conservation Minister Chris Carter was pleased the deed protected public access to the lake into the future.
Trust board secretary Rakeipoho Taiaroa said the deed simplified the tribe's arrangements with the Crown since 1926. "As far as the public is concerned, nothing will change," he said.
"Ngati Tuwharetoa's historical actions as kaitiaki [stewards] of Lake Taupo and its environs have contributed profoundly to the lake's recreation and tourism value."
- NZPA
