April 18, 2024
Tūroa deal leaves iwi disgruntled
A Ngāti Rangi leader says the iwi is keen to have a better relationship with the new managers of the Tūroa skifield than it does with the Department of Conservation.
DoC has granted a 10-year concession to Pure Tūroa to run the skifield after previous operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts went bust despite a series of government bail-outs.
Ngati Rangi chair Whetu Moataane says the iwi has a unique connection to Ruapehu, but is was treated by DoC as a stakeholder rather than a fellow decision maker.
“We kept on asking why do we need to be doing this? Shouldn’t we be at the same table as you receiving them? We would have expected that either DoC or the minister himself would respond to the advice that we had given and we’re still waiting on it,” he says.