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Access to the northern part of Te Urewera National Park is being closed for summer by members of a Tuhoe hapu, but local Maori say it has nothing to do with this month's police raids.
The decision to deny access to tourists, fishermen, hunters, and trampers from tomorrow stems from a disagreement between the Ngai Tama Tuhirae hapu, of nearby Omuriwaka marae, and the Whakatane District Council.
The affected road provides a route to three popular holiday spots, The Lion's Hut, Waimana Valley Eight Acre camping ground, and Ogilvies camping area.
The Omuriwaka Maori Incorporation said the council did not own the road to the bush, and referred to a Maori Land Court decision of July 20 which confirmed ownership belonged to the hapu.
Hapu spokeswoman Tearaaka Te Pairi said the council also owed her organisation $15,000 in unpaid fees, a result of three meetings between the two organisations.
She said anyone outside the hapu, except for emergency workers and a handful of others would be denied access to the park.
The issue had nothing to do with the police raids of a few weeks ago, she said.
Whanau in the valley just wanted a quiet summer this year and that was the reason for closing the road to the public.
"The request came from the rest of the marae (in the valley)," she said.
But permits could be gained if visitors asked her organisation.
Asked why this was necessary, she said for "safety reasons".
Conflict in the Matahi valley was sparked last September when Maori told the new owners of forestry land in the park, Rayonier Forest Farms, that the purchased land was stolen.
Since then they have blocked the company's access to pine trees, which the company wants to mill.
In December district councillor Russell Orr infuriated the hapu by filming the blockade, including a man banging on the vehicle when the occupants refused to turn around.
It was posted on the YouTube internet video site, followed by a February video made by a hapu member, depicting a kidnapping of a German backpacker, who screamed when his tent was confiscated.
A voiceover stated "any other tourists camping on our Maori land - piss off."
A masked man was shown waving his finger Al Qaeda-style with the message "you can't always camp where you want."
Blockade member Onion Orupe said this week the group were "not protesters, we are freedom fighters". He and others said the group at the barrier were peaceful.
Whakatane Mayor Colin Holmes "absolutely" rejected the claim that the council owed the hapu $15,000 in fees for three meetings.
"The first meeting we had [six months ago] we went up there and it was dictated entirely by them ...
"Then at the end we got an invoice from them for $395 billion."
There had been "no meaningful dialogue" between the two parties at any of the meetings, he said.
He acknowledged the road went across private property owned by the hapu.
An offer to buy the land, and an offer to put an easement in with associated compensation were some of the proposals put to the hapu.
"When that failed, we decided to go around the outside of where the original road was."
This was done within the council's rights but the hapu protested.
Department of Conservation East Coast Hawke's Bay conservator Peter Williamson said the road was one of many ways to the park, and suggested people use other entry points.
