Ngāti Rangi not informed of changes to Ruapehu Alpine Lifts

Te Tōtarahoe o Paerangi chairman Whetu Moataane says Ngāti Rangi is "bitterly disappointed" not to have been informed or consulted about the RAL changes. Photo / Supplied

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts' move to voluntary administration is being described as an affront to the dignity and rangatiratanga of iwi Ngāti Rangi.

The operator of Tūroa and Whakapapa ski fields announced on Tuesday it was going into voluntary administration after unfavourable weather and two years of Covid-19 disruptions resulted in three disastrous ski seasons.

Te Tōtarahoe o Paerangi chairman Whetu Moataane said Tūroa Ski Area was established in the current location in 1978 under the authority of a licence granted by the Crown to the operating company at the time.

"This was done without consultation with Ngāti Rangi," Moataane said.

"Today as the stream of reporters drove past our tari at 1 Mountain Rd, we were reminded that even with a Treaty settlement in place, media and Ministers alike appear to forget their own law – namely Ahakoa haere te Karauna ki whea, ka haere hoki a Ngāti Rangi – that Where the Crown goes, so goes Ngāti Rangi.

"During the 1995-96 eruption, Ngāti Rangi, as an iwi, went to Koro Ruapehu and had karakia. In the subsequent years, Ngāti Rangi has continued to have a presence within the ski field business, including constructing the towers for the chairlifts. Since the eruption, Ngāti Rangi has always led the opening and closing karakia for the maunga, including the closing karakia held just yesterday."

In Ngāti Rangi's 2018 Deed of Settlement, the Crown acknowledged it had failed for many years to include Ngāti Rangi in the ongoing management arrangements for Tongariro National Park and this severely affected the ability of Ngāti Rangi to practise their tino rangatiratanga and kaitiakitanga over their sacred maunga, Ruapehu, and their wāhi tapu within the park, Moataane said.

"Rukutia Te Mana established that this was a breach of te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.

"Ngāti Rangi has actually had a relationship agreement with Ruapehu Alpine Lifts since 2017, a joint approach between Ngāti Rangi and RAL to matters that affect Ruapehu through the establishment of a relationship group called Te Pae Toka.

"We cannot understate the profound significance to Ngāti Rangi of Matua te Mana, Ruapehu maunga, from which the iwi draw life, sustenance, and inspiration."

"Despite the decades of cultural support; despite the commitment enshrined in law; despite the existence of Te Pae Toka, we are bitterly disappointed that neither Ruapehu Alpine Lifts as an entity, or respective Ministers of the Crown, thought to give us a heads-up or to consult with us about possible solutions to this crisis on Koro.

"We expected better."