Officials to meet Far North camp ground protestors

Government officials will today meet Far North iwi blocking the road to a Department of Conservation (DOC) camping ground in Matai Bay on the Karikari Peninsula.

Ngati Kahu say they are sick of trespassers from the camp crossing their land, northeast of Kaitaia.

As a result they have blocked the only road to the camp which they say is a private accessway belonging to them.

Te Runanga-a-Iwi o Ngati Kahu chairwoman Professor Margaret Mutu said the camp was also on land illegally confiscated by the Government.

Conservation Minister Chris Carter said officials would meet with Ngati Kahu today after checking out the paper work over ownership and access, none of which had ever been a problem in the past.

"If it is absolutely clear that the public has the right of access, and we believe that it will show that, then that access will be ensured," Mr Carter told National Radio.

The law would be used to enforce access to the camping ground if necessary Mr Carter said.

Ngati Kahu stopped cars using the road to get to the camp ground over the weekend when a group of 15 erected signs and built a gate.

Prof Mutu said the action was not a protest -- the iwi were exercising their rights as private citizens.

The 100-site campground was on a reserve that had been illegally confiscated in the 1960s and for years the iwi had been urging the Department of Conservation to return it, Prof Mutu said.

"The family it was taken from are still adamant they are going to get it back."

All land on the peninsula was Maori-owned except the multi-million dollar Carrington Farms owned by American Paul Kelly, and the reserve, which was only accessible via Maori land.

"We've tried to work with DOC, but it's almost impossible to work with Carrington Farms. The problems have really escalated."

Legal access to Karikari Beach was through Carrington Farms but it had been locked off and people were sent through Maori land to get to the beach, Prof Mutu said.

Mr Carter said DOC acknowledged there was a continuing problem with trespassers, but that did not justify blocking what he believed was a public road.

"Our staff have been working through those issues and we have every sympathy with Ngati Kahu and we are taking steps to make sure campers obey the rules," he said.

It was believed in the early 1980s the Maori Land Court granted an easement through the Maori land to the reserve, Mr Carter said.

If necessary the police would be asked to enforce access down the road.

Mr Carter said any dispute over the camping ground was a matter for the Treaty of Waitangi claim process or the courts.

"For the moment, that is a public reserve managed by the Department of Conservation enjoyed by thousands of campers for many, many years," Mr Carter said.

If his department was wrong and there was no public road, officials would work with local Maori to try and ensure the popular camping ground could be used by all New Zealanders over the summer holidays, Mr Carter said.

- NZPA