Family move but say fight not over

The Department of Conservation has installed a locked gate at the Kuaotunu house Victor McLean and his family occupied until last week. Photo / Supplied

A family who occupied land and a house they rented from the Department of Conservation have left before they could be evicted.

But Victor McLean said although he and his family have decided to go peacefully for now, the fight was not over.

The 48-year-old forestry trapper and his wife Tania wanted to remain at the Coromandel Peninsula property after DoC ended the tenancy late last year.

He claimed DoC wanted them off the land because it had been identified as a gold prospecting site. The couple and their three children, aged 12, 14 and 19, were now staying with friends.

Mr McLean said the house in Waitaia Rd at Kuaotunu, north of Whitianga, was on Maori land and he had been acting as kaitiaki, or guardian, of the 1.2ha block for seven years.

Mrs McLean had signed a tenancy agreement only to ensure maintenance of the property was kept up, he said.

After DoC terminated the tenancy at Christmas, giving 90 days' notice, the couple withheld the $180 a week rent and used the money to pay for urgent repairs to a leaking septic tank. In mid-June the family called in about 40 iwi members to occupy the land, deemed public reserve by DoC, in an effort to force the landlord into negotiations.

The McLeans had already paid back the $2500 in arrears they owed but after failing to show at a Tenancy Tribunal hearing on the matter, the tribunal ruled in favour of DoC.

An application for a rehearing was dismissed at the Thames District Court and the family were ordered to leave. A locked gate was installed at the property last week.

Mr McLean said he decided to move the family because he didn't want his children to be arrested for trespassing. "We have left under a peaceful protest. It's been a bit of a battle but it's definitely not over."

Mr McLean said the land was never sold to the Crown and he would look into a Treaty of Waitangi claim by Hauraki Maori representatives, which could include the property, when it was finalised.

But DoC Hauraki service programme manager Greg Dyer said the claim was only in the early stages of negotiations and had not identified parcels of land yet.

Termination of the tenancy had nothing to do with the tenants and was undertaken because DoC wanted to carry out site work on the land, he said.

Mr Dyer denied DoC wanted to mine the land for gold and said it was not in its mandate to do so. He said DoC had paid for the septic tank maintenance and the McLeans were in breach of their tenancy agreement by carrying out other works on the property without permission.

The McLeans were now moving and DoC staff were aiding that move, Mr Dyer said.