Ohaaki Marae to stay despite slump

Ohaaki Marae will not be moved despite being at risk of becoming submerged as the land beneath it continues to sink.

It was decided at a meeting at the marae on Saturday that it should not be moved.

The marae, about 40km north of Taupo, has been slowly sinking because of steam extraction at the nearby Contact Energy-owned Ohaaki Geothermal Power Station. The level of the land it sits on has dropped 3.7m since 1992 and is now just 150cm above river level.

A working party was set up in 2003 and funded by Contact Energy to consider options. Ohaaki Marae working party spokeswoman Aroha Campbell said recommendations for a new site and design for a new wharenui were made to a hui of iwi members. These included a concept design which would see the marae moved to 6ha beside State Highway 5.

In a surprise turnaround iwi members decided not to move. Mrs Campbell said at the end of the day, the whanau and hapu didn't want to move.

"We got a decision and the people have decided - we just have to move on."

Iwi member Nellie Hathaway represents a group who fought against the shift and she was pleased with the decision.

"At this stage we're not too sure if this is the end of the matter and where we go from here." She said it was likely there would be further attempts to move the marae.

About 100 people had turned up to the meeting and Mrs Hathaway said it wasn't a big turnout. The decision was made by a show of hands.

"It was a surprise and we thought we were going to be moving. We had kind of given up hope."

Facebook had been an important tool in keeping whanau informed, Mrs Hathaway said.

She was especially glad about the decision for her late mother, who had fought to stop the marae from moving.

The Ohaaki Geothermal Power Station was built in 1989 and the problems stem from its operation, although some hapu members have maintained there were issues with the rising level of Lake Ohakuri, developed for a hydro-power dam in the 1960s.

The marae had to be moved for the first time then and over the years disagreements arose about various issues, including whether the marae should be moved, the destruction of a ngawha (hot spring), what should happen to the urupa (cemetery) and a sacred fertility rock located near the marae. There were also concerns about the rate of subsidence, which had slowed significantly.

Two expert reports gave opposing views - one saying the marae wasn't under threat and the other saying subsidence was an issue, along with a risk of flooding.