Landowners target reserve's fence in governance row

Some landowners have disconnected surveillance equipment on the predator-proof barrier. Photo / Christine Cornege

A group of landowners are threatening to tear down a multi-million dollar predator-proof fence around a Waikato ecological sanctuary unless a governance structure they say unfairly favours Maori is scrapped.

A messy stoush between funders of the Maungatautari Reserve, the Waipa District Council, Environment Waikato, a handful of surrounding landowners and local iwi Ngati Koroki Kahukura is threatening to derail years of work at the wildlife sanctuary near Karapiro.

The Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust, which manages the reserve, was originally set up as a tripartite agreement between landowners, the community and iwi to to fund and manage a vision to put a 47km pest-proof fence around Mt Maungatautari.

But late last year the governance arrangement was changed when iwi Ngati Koroki Kahukura, with support from Waipa District Council and Environment Waikato, sought half the six seats on the trust. Two trustees who opposed the move were voted off.

Some landowners objected by locking their gates and Maori threatened not to allow returning species to the mountain if demands were not met.

Maungatautari Landowners Council spokesman Peter Holmes said his group gave the trust 30 days to return to its original governance arrangement.

The deadline passed late last month and with no change, some landowners disconnected their surveillance systems on the pest-proof fence, leaving rare plants and birds at risk.

Mr Holmes said if the governance structure remained then he and other landowners would consider "shifting" the fence to outside their property boundaries.

He said farmers had allowed the fence to be constructed on their lands saving the trust about 1km of extra fence.

Asked if this would be a devastating blow for the project, Mr Holmes responded: "Well that's a choice they are going to have to make, isn't it?

"Really what we want is for the previous partnership to carry on, which is equal representation from the three groups.

"The contract we entered into to allow people access across our properties has been negated by this structure which we don't agree with."

Ngati Koroki Kahukura chairman Karaitiana Tamatea would not comment when contacted yesterday.

Waipa District Council mayor Alan Livingston and MEIT co-chairman Tony Wilding could not be contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, financial backers The Gallagher Group, said its chequebook would stay closed until the present governance structure was overturned.

Economist Gareth Morgan, who gave the trust an interest-free $1 million loan, has also cut off funding.

Morgan offered $1 million towards the building of a tree-top walkway that would create tourism revenue to run the trust's operational costs - but only if the present trust structure was ditched.

Last week, more than 600 people attending a meeting held in Cambridge backed a resolution for the Maungatautari Reserve to be given national park status.

The move would see management vested in the trust, in partnership with the Department of Conservation stripping the Waipa District Council of its statutory authority over the reserve.