The headquarters of Te Uru Taumatua in Tāneatua, Whakatāne District. Photo / Alan Gibson
Prominent Tūhoe iwi member Matt Te Pou has called for an independent review into Tūhoe iwi governing board Te Uru Taumatua and the resignation of its chief executive.
It comes after Te Uru Taumatua (TUT) – the post-settlement governance entity for Tūhoe – withdrew its appeal against a 2023 High Court ruling that found the entity had acted unlawfully in removing several huts from Te Urewera.
Twenty-nine of 53 huts in Te Urewera were burned down in late 2022 at the direction of TUT, which is responsible for operational management of Te Urewera jointly with the Department of Conservation (DoC).
The destruction of the huts followed a decision by Te Urewera’s board to decommission DoC infrastructure within Te Urewera and was supported by the DoC director-general Penny Nelson.
Auckland High Court judge Justice Matthew Downs found the decisions and actions of TUT and Nelson were unlawful in some areas.
The judgment found that TUT and the board acted contrary to the Te Urewera Act by failing to ensure, as much as possible:
Justice Downs also found that TUT acted unlawfully by demolishing the huts without having an annual operational plan.
Chris Abraham, caseflow manager/deputy registrar of the Court of Appeal, confirmed that an appeal against the ruling and a cross-appeal were abandoned by parties last month.
Tūhoe man Wharenui Tuna (of Te Whakatāne hapū) objected to the destruction of the DoC huts and filed the court application ruled on in December 2023.
Te Pou, a former Te Urewera board member, believes the chief executive of TUT, Kirsti Luke, should step down.
“She’s the CEO of Te Uru Taumata, so she’s in charge of operations, but she’s also the chair of the Te Urewera board. And, so really at the end of the day, the responsibility lies right at her feet because [TUT] made the decision and she was the chairwoman,” he said.
In a press statement, Tuna said the withdrawal of TUT’s appeal was “somewhat of a vindication”, but his sentiments still stood.
“Already we are seeing less Tūhoe whānau and members of the public accessing Te Urewera. The tracks are not being maintained. Without the biodiversity huts that were burned down, the forest is becoming overrun with pests, and bird numbers are declining,” Tuna wrote.
“TUT promised that they were removing the huts so they could replace them with better versions. But as far as I know, they have only installed three Portacom-type huts – two in the upper Ohinemataroa river and one in the Te Waiiti stream – and none of them are open to the public.
“Considering the High Court judgment, it would seem to be crucial to maintain and improve those huts that remain. But we haven’t seen that happening, which is a huge shame.”
TUT was approached for comment on June 14.
It responded with an acknowledgement of the query regarding its withdrawal of the appeal but had not provided any further comment as of Wednesday this week.
“We acknowledge receipt of your inquiry regarding the reported withdrawal of Te Uru Taumatua’s appeal,” its initial response read. “Your request is currently being reviewed. Please note that while we are considering the matter, you may or may not receive a further response depending on the outcome of our internal process,”.
The Gisborne Herald emailed further queries to TUT at the start of the week regarding Te Pou’s request for a review and the resignation of Luke. No response had been received as of Thursday.
Lena Sapunova, director at DoC’s Office of the Director-General, said DoC continued to support TUT with the operational management of Te Urewera.
“We are working closely together on implementing this year’s Annual Operational Plan and delivering to ensure we continue to meet our statutory obligations,” Sapunova said.
DoC said, in a separate written statement, the maintenance of huts was done by TUT.
“The department contributes funding for maintenance of huts as needed, and in line with the work plan of Te Uru Taumatua.”
Tuna said the legal actions had come at a cost.
“Expenditure of Tūhoe and taxpayer money could have been avoided if TUT and DoC had managed Te Urewera in accordance with the principles of Te Urewera Act. We are thankful that TUT has withdrawn its appeal, saving further costs,” he said.
“Moving forward, we can only hope that TUT and DoC can co-operate and follow the principles of Te Urewera Act to protect and enhance the forest and improve our ability to access and enjoy Te Urewera.”
Wendy Aldred KC, who led Tuna’s legal team, said she was “pleased the appeal had been abandoned and Tuna’s claims vindicated by the High Court’s findings of unlawful conduct by TUT, Te Urewera Board and DoC”.
“The judgment should be used to guide future lawful decision-making for the benefit of Te Urewera.”
Te Pou said he and many others had travelled to support Tuna over a range of court hearings held in Rotorua.
The huts were important for both their positioning and the protection they offered from the weather, he said.
“Tūhoe use those huts quite regularly and in the past my wife and I, with others, travelled up our valley to Maungapohatu and stayed at the Makomako Hut,” Te Pou said.
“The late rangatira Peho Tamiana, acknowledged as one of the most respected Tūhoe on Te Urewera, reported at a Waimana tribal meeting that Te Urewera is dying.
“He had just returned from an extensive horse ride crossing Waimana, Ruatahuna and Ruatoki Valley. We heard his concerns – that Te Urewera is dying, there is a blowout of pests. Tracks are a mess due to a lack of maintenance and in some cases unsafe – also the slips and windfall blocking tracks. So now we get Te Urewera back and this is how we treat it.”
Te Pou said biodiversity, protecting forests and pest control were key.
“Yet we have no annual plan ... without a doubt a breach of the principles of the act.”
Supporting public access was also very important to Te Pou.
“Under those conditions the land came back to us.”
He said many in Tūhoe were not consulted before actions were taken to remove the huts.
Te Pou wants an independent review of TUT.
“The board must have been aware because an individual can’t act on their lonesome when they take a decision like this.
“We’ve got excellent examples of PSGEs [post-settlement governance entities] after the post-Waitangi Tribunal. You’ve got ones like Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Whātua, Tainui, they’re doing brilliant things. They’re not going around torching bloody huts and doing stupid things like that.”
Peter was trapped under a tractor for hours on his Mangakino farm.