Responsible Development Is Paying Dividends For Ngati Tuwharetoa

Tu Tangata, Issue 5, 1 April 1982, Page 10

Responsible Development Is Paying Dividends For Ngati Tuwharetoa

WHENUA/Land

Business is booming in the central North Island for the Tuwharetoa tribe and the catch cry is ‘Green Gold’. From the lookout at Waituhi one can see Maori land stretching all around almost to the horizon and much of this land is either grassland or else covered in timber.

In many ways the Tuwharetoa people have been very lucky in having smart business people like the late Pat Hura who’ve made sure the Maori owners made the most of land deals. Those deals have seen the tribe retain much of its land so that it has economic clout in the commercial world. Business figures Undoubtedly one of these business figures is Sir Hepi Te Heu Heu who administers the Puketapu 3A Incorporation along with his son Timu. Sir Hepi says it was a point of pride amongst owners not to seek outside financial assistance. He says the people were lucky in having administrative and commercial experties on tap from the extensive logging that took place on the land some years ago. From that background of maori contractors and transport firms he says came a sound business sense that saw the incorporation plough back its money into grassland farming. His son Timu is being trained to take over the reins of the incorporation and says the future looks bright for grass-

land farming with sheep and cattle. The incorporation is also diversifying into deer farming on the Moerangi Station. As well the incorporation owns two commercial premises in Taumaranui, one in which it is housed, and the other, Te Maunga House. Both have been leased out to government departments for local sub offices. Going ahead However it’s in the field of afforestation that the Tuwharetoa people are really going ahead. The Tuwharetoa Trust Board administers the annual income paid to the Board by Government in perpetuity for the use of Lake Taupo waters and that of its tributary streams. The Board is also the Tribal Council for the Tuwharetoa people who own and occupy large areas of land within the central plateau of the North Island. The income from the Lake is used for annual grants to tribal youth and covers the whole field of education, trade apprentices, nursing and teacher trainees, handicapped persons, school libraries, post primary students and

university students as well as care of tnbal elders - Maorrole since its constitution in 1926 the Board has played a major role in the depme.nt of nba ! !j nd f ° r far . m ! ng ' When it was found that afforestation

rather than farming was more desirable on land on the eastern side of Lake Taupo and around Lake Rotoaira, the Tuwharetoa people were quick to move. The land was leased to the Crown to be planted in pine trees and looked after by the New Zealand Forest Service. The Lake Taupo forest on the east side of the Lake covers 75-thousand acres and the Rotoaira Forest has 50-thousand acres. The planting programme allows for commercial thinning after ten years and members of the Lake Taupo Forest Trust have already benefited from the first thinnings through a deal with New Zealand Forest Products. Their return is IBV2 cents in every dollar from the sale of the wood product. That’s a guaranteed eight dollars per tree. Green gold This payment will continue annually until 1990 and when the clear-felling of saw logs commences in 1990, it’s been estimated the income to the Lake Taupo Forest Trust will rise to a million dollars per year, hence the term ‘Green Gold’.

Thp lpa<?p tn thp Crown for afforpstation is for 70 years and there is provision in the lease agreement for both Trusts to Durchase back the entire forests from the Crown, if they so wish after 40 years with a part of their annual revenue being used in payment. Second in charge for the Forest Service of the Rotoaira Forest is a Tuwharetoa owner, Alec Gage. From his office at Turangi he administers a very commercial destiny over his land. He says the return to the Trust Board for the Rotoaira Forest will be 15 cents in the dollar with the first commercial returns from thinnings coming up next year. Good Return 0 Alec has been with the Forest Service since leaving school and says he’s proud to play such a part in seeing Maori owners get a good return on their land. On the day I went to find out more about the afforestation development, Alec took me and Maori Affairs Department community officer, John Mariu on a tour of the Rotoaira Forest. We travelled down roads constructed for the Tongariro power project, that are now seeing a transformation in land use. The bush and scrub has been cleared and pine seedlings planted progressively to give an even

spread to eventual thinning and clearfelling. In many areas, as we bumped over dusty access roads, the distinctive yellow broom was starting to make a successful comeback and Alec said those areas would need to be sprayed again. n other areas, a fungicide had hit the underside of young pines making it necessary for more spraying. Care taken A very noticeable aspect was the care taken to preserve the natural environment with the native bush being left around streams or water-courses feeding into the lake. After circling the lake we finally came upon one of the Forest Service quality control teams operating in the forest. In charge was John Hura, another Tuwharetoa owner. He pointed out how his team checked that the contract gang had done their job properly p run i n g branches to a specified height. • j_[ e sa j ( j w jth proper quality control th e yield of millable timber per hectare ma y exceed that of the nearby Lake Taupo Forest, with a return of around 20-thousand dollars per hectare. Linked future The future of both forests and Tu-

rangi and the surrounding district is closely intertwined because although a good return is assured for the immediate future there’s a lack of young skilled forestry workers amongst the tribe, ft s this predicament that has prompted some to ask if a special training programme is needed, Also decisions have to be made about the land if the lease purchase agreement is taken up after 40 years, Many members of the Tuwharetoa tribe are employed on the Tongariro power development but with the completion of the development many of these tribal folk and owners could face unemployment. The Board and the Trusts find this unacceptable and so their decisions for the best utilisation of the land are ff the more important, And even then there’s more wheeling an( f dealing to be had with the Trust looking to expand on more surrounding Maori land. At present there’s overtures from the Crown for Maori land to be taken into National Park and the Trust is looking to exchange land on the Desert Road side of the mountain for some of the crown land adjoining the Rotoaira Forest. Whichever way it goes you can be sure the Tuwharetoa people will get the best deal that’s to be had based on their heritage of good business sense.