Eight iwi have joined forces to combat a pest they fear will destroy native bush near Rotorua within two years.
Wallabies feed on native flora important to native wildlife as well as compete with stock on farmland for pasture. They also damage pine and eucalyptus seedlings on plantations.
It is estimated wallabies would cause $16.5 million in damage by 2025 in the North Island.
A containment area for the pests in the North Island is about 260,000 hectares, mostly in the Rotorua district.
The Biosecurity New Zealand-led Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme aims to limit wallabies to the containment zone but iwi are concerned forests could be devastated by the time the programme plans to switch focus to reducing pest numbers within the zone in 2025.
Local councils, iwi, landowners and other groups are involved in the programme.
Ngāti Tarāwhai Iwi Trust chairman Cyrus Hingston spoke to Local Democracy Reporting about a new iwi-led project that aimed, in their view, to focus on things the existing programme was not yet doing.
He has seen first-hand the damage wallabies cause to the environment, which he said had both cultural and economic impacts.
“We are kaitiaki of that area, we are mana whenua,” he said, referring to the joint-iwi approach.
The forest understory at Lake Ōkataina should be thick and dense but he said the number of wallabies in the area had eaten it sparse in places.
He believed bringing iwi together aimed for a co-ordinated approach and in his view the Government approach would result in “unfettered destruction” over the next two years.
Te Arawa Kāhui sought funding under the Biosecurity New Zealand programme.
Hingston said it received $228,000 from MPI to train 13 Te Arawa men and women in pest control, but were told budgeting had been done for the year and it could not be given the $1.4 million it needed for each of three years to clear the area of pests.
Hingston said the project would mean they could focus on the inside of the containment zone.
“We can’t wait while the understory is being killed.”
He understood parts of Whakapoungakau Range - around Ōkataina and the eastern edge of Rotorua - were close to environmental collapse from collective pest impact. This was one of the highly wallaby-populated areas in the containment zone.
Hingston said a “global approach” was needed as other pests reached bait stations before the timid wallabies.
Hingston said he saw 20 wallabies during a recent 10-minute walk around Ōkataina at night.
Charles Te Kowhai has been helping Hingston, having managed a similar pest programme funded by Jobs for Nature in Ngongotahā and the Kaimai Mamaku Range.
He said these projects enabled iwi and hapu members to get involved at a “grassroots” level, he said.
It also fostered an intergenerational interest and long-term commitment.
Karen Pene and her husband Robert work as Ngāti Rongomai’s Ōkataina Outdoor Education Centre co-ordinators and live on-site.
She said it was not unusual to see 100 wallabies in the paddock behind the centre.
Local Democracy Reporting ventured out to the centre at night when the wallabies came out.
Their timidness was evident when the car headlights shone on them. They hopped from the open to the forest edge, unsure whether to hide.
The later it got, the more wallabies there were. Some had joeys in their pouches.
Their size varied, some looked the same size as a large cat, while others were much larger.
Karen said her vegetable garden was never safe.
She supported the joint-iwi project.
“I think it’s awesome they are teaching the young ones, teaching them those skills.”
Three wāhine involved in the iwi wallaby eradication training programme spoke to Local Democracy Reporting.
Kristina Warmington said the work was helping to rejuvenate the area.
“It’s important, the forest out here is quite unhealthy ... bring the mauri back, bring the birdlife back.”
Maia-Rose Bennett said, for her, it was not about “seek and destroy”, but restoring what Māori can connect to and use for rongoā [traditional medicines].
“It’s very spiritual for me.”
Chase Te Rupe-Kurei’s koro worked for the Department of Conservation in the area and thought the training was the right thing for her to get into.
Of the wallaby, she said: “They are destroying our native plants, and killing our native birds.”
MPI pest management manager John Sanson said the ministry was working with Te Arawa Kāhui and supporting mana whenua aspirations was a key component of the wallaby programme’s strategy.
He said it supported the initiative by providing technical support and some funding this financial year for a small amount of wallaby control work.
“Despite the proposal coming late during the financial planning for this year, the programme has committed $400,000 to the Kāhui wallaby activities this year.”
This included research projects to improve control methods.
“We are prioritising control in the areas where we can be most effective, and over time, the area of focus will shift inside the containment area.”
This was most effective over the long term, he said.
Sanson said some programme partners, including iwi, had different perspectives about how and where to prioritise investment and effort.
He said it was engaged in discussions to ensure the programme was working in the most effective way and prevent the impacts that people and the environment were currently experiencing.
Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express and has been a journalist for four years.
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