New Pure Tūroa Ltd chief executive Jono Dean has written to ministry officials seeking their assistance, after iwi on both the north and south sides of the mountain lodged High Court challenges to the company’s concession to operate a private business in the national park. …
Newsroom asked Dean about his letter to officials saying the court action jeopardises the company’s viability. “I think blind Freddie could figure that out,” he replies, “that a judicial review that attacks the licence process that the Crown undertook is a concern.”
The answer is not more taxpayer cash. Frankly if the local iwi want to destroy the biggest source of employment and income for their local whanau, then let them wear the consequences of that. If they want to restore Ruapehu to a mountain that people look at, rather than use – let them.
It would mean the loss of around 5,000 jobs in the Ruapehu area. 40% of the population are Māori so the iwi would actually be destroying around 2,000 jobs for their whanau. But that is a consequence of their decision to oppose the concessions.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders
5 comments:
What it would do is hand over millions of dollars of ski field infrastructure and buildings to iwi for nothing….who would then lease it out to a foreign ski field operator/s and business would resume….with a sour taste being left in the mouths of the kiwis who have patronised these businesses for a century or more.
These claims need to be called out for what they are - Corporate THEFT.
I think the reason iwi are going to court is because they want the sking business for themselves, particularly because it will be a good source of corporate welfare. It is like Ngai Tahu taking over the whale watch business, despite knowing nothing about whales or driving boats.
Maori used to ski way back when, it, sure to be recorded somewhere. There is probably also a story about it, remembered by someone somewhere.
As a taxpayer, I would have no problem having my tax pay for dismantling all the infrastructure on the mountain, leaving it bare and letting local IWI do what they want. with it.
Yeah Ray, those Maori skiers would have been very grateful for the Kathmandu warm clothing instead of freezing their arses off wearing only flax skirts and dog skin shirts.
However, those who climbed to the top of Ruapehu, would managed to get that famous Maori view of the world.
Rays S and subsequent Anon, you forget, Maori purportedly travelled to Antarctica in their flax skirts, dog skins, and (one must assume) some feathers, so hiking to the top of Ruapehu would have been like a veritable afternoon stroll by comparison! Still, bit of a bugger though carrying that water in a woven bag, so I suppose taking a mokai or taurekareka would have provided some warm sustenance (akin to Uber Eats) for the journey to gain that world view? But I do think we're likely all agreed (i.e. it's the GREED) what is the real driver - as Anon@6.26 rightly identifies.
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