Unrest over 1080 in Ruapehu

Mount Ruapehu emerges from the clouds. PHOTO/ FILE

Some members of Ruapehu iwi Ngati Rangi want their tribe to withdraw its agreement to 1080 aerial poison operations in the district, Juelle Gilbert says.

She and a small group have organised a petition, asking the iwi to "cease and desist". They plan to present the petition to Ngati Rangi environmental staff on Monday, she said.

Some of this last-minute unrest could have come from an incorrect statement in Monday's Wanganui Chronicle. The iwi did not ask for poison baits to be dropped over water, Ngati Rangi Trust chairman Shar Amner said.

Ngati Rangi's many waterways were precious, he said, and its environmental team put lots of effort into monitoring them.

But he said it was inevitable that some 1080 would get into water during the three TBfree New Zealand operations planned for the next 10 years.

Miss Gilbert said it was mainly 1080 in water that troubled her group. She said she lived in the bush near Erua, and relied on trout for food when times are tough.

Hunters were also bothered by the drops, she said, because dogs could die from eating poisoned possum carcasses, and deer could be killed by eating bait pellets.

A third concern was the tribe's kaitiaki role for the district - "the land and water and our childrens' future".

She went to four consultation meetings on the matter and was very disappointed her iwi agreed to the operations. The group was now trying to get them stopped, by presenting a petition asking it to "cease and desist".

She said the meetings had not been well publicised, and not many people came to them. The whole Raetihi-Ohakune community was upset by the tribe's decision, she said.

Mr Amner said the meetings were well publicised and open to anyone who wanted to go.

Miss Gilbert said rallies were planned in Ohakune, leading up to the petition presentation on Monday.

On that day protesters are to march from the information centre to 1 Mountain Rd carrying water from the river. They would then present the petition to Ngati Rangi's environmental staff at 2pm.