Pride in Murupara main driver for clean-up team

Beware rubbish dumpers - Murupara has a new sheriff.

Murupara resident Arlene Tanirau has been leading a clean-up of the rural township and has been rewarded for her efforts.

Mrs Tanirau and her team at the Murupara Community and Charitable Trust will receive an award next week from the Whakatane District Council for their efforts in cleaning up tonnes of rubbish dumped around their small town.

The group's efforts aren't popular with everybody but Mrs Tanirau is adamant the work needs to be done.

"I've been getting a bit of grief for it," she said.

"I tell them just take a look around, it's you and your people who are dumping all this crap because you are lazy and have no pride in where you live.

"They are supposed to be the guardians of the land but they are doing a pretty useless job of that."

Mrs Tanirau said the worst part of the problem was that it was local Maori who were making the mess.

"They go ahead and make all these land claims and then let it all go to scrub and dump rubbish everywhere.

"It's not on."

Two weeks ago Mrs Tanirau and a team of concerned Murupara citizens pulled tonnes of rubbish, including wrecked cars and car parts, whiteware, tyres and televisions from forestry roads around the town.

Most of the rubbish was dumped further away from the town than the local recycling centre.

Whakatane district councillor and chairman of the Pride Whakatane District Committee, Andrew Iles, said Mrs Tanirau would receive a certificate in recognition of her work at a special ceremony next Monday.

"There is always a need for a good driver to steer projects like this.

"She is a person who does not do it for recognition but for her community and the environment," he said.

"It's a great example of an isolated community pulling together and getting things sorted."

Murupara Constable Mike West, who helped with the clean-up said no one had yet been prosecuted.

"We are in the process of determining whether to prosecute or find another way of reparation.

"If we find names in the rubbish we will talk to the people involved. If they clean it up, then we won't have a problem," he said.