06/04/2006

Desecration at Aotea

A battle is brewing over an illegally constructed bach at Aotea.
Hamilton residents George and Moyna Fletcher have built the bach on their Lawton Drive property on the edge of Aotea Harbour - land that local iwi deem waahi tapu without resource consent:
Ngati Te Wehi spokesman Davis Apiti said the building has been constructed on an urupa (burial ground) next to the Aotea seawall and is furious Otorohanga District Council has let it happen.
"They (council) have let the Fletchers build on land they know is of major significance to our people," said Mr Apiti. "We haven't been consulted about this at all, even though council is aware of our special relationship with this area." The Fletchhes applied for resource consent to construct a dwelling last year, which was opposed by Ngati Te Wehi. They withdrew their application, but constructed the dwelling anyway.
ODC environmental services manager Julie Mead-Rose said council has stepped in and the Fletchers have since reapplied for consent.
"Council has put a stop to further work being carried out on the building while we work through the consent process," she said.
"We are working through the process in accordance with the Building Act and the District Plan. We will take appropriate action."
Mr Apiti said land surrounding the harbour is a centuries-old battle site and many bodies still lie in the area. He said increased activity at Aotea in recent years had exposed several koiwi (human remains) along the foreshore.
"The koiwi that have fallen onto the beach have been relocated to another cemetery so that they can lie in peace and be safe," said Mr Apiti.
"One of the reasons we allowed the seawall project to proceed a few years ago was that we were assured by council that this area would be planted in native trees to ensure the urupa was protected from erosion."
Otorohanga District Council has come under fire from local iwi for its actions at Aotea.
"It's imperative that council plant those trees around the urupa like they promised us.
"That still hasn't happened and people are building on the land. people build on the area. At no time were we told some of that area was in private ownership - we were led to believe all of it would be planted.
"We have been let down and misled by council. "They claim they want to have good dialogue with iwi, but this proves they don't care about that at all.
"I feel we have entered into dialogue and discussion with council with good intentions and reached agreements based on good faith, but they haven't lived up to their side of the bargain.
"Council has totally disrespected the tangata whenua."
ODC chief executive David Hall confirmed discussion at the time of the seawall's construction about planting the adjacent road reserve in trees.
He said that remains an option "though we obviously can't plant trees on land we don't own".
Mr Apiti said Ngati Te Wehi is prepared to take the fight to the Environment Court if consent for the Fletchers' building is granted.
"We'll also be going to our MP (Nanaia Mahuta). Council can't go on acting like we are invisible. "We want that building removed from the urupa and what was promised to us - the planting of trees - to happen.
"We're not opposed to-development at Aotea. We just want it done properly and we expect to be listened too like council claims they do."
The Waitomo News was unable to contact the Fletchers for comment.

Oto library considers gold card action

Forget about seeing red.
Keen Otorohanga readers may soon be seeing gold, if Otorohanga district librarian Sarah Osborne has her way.
At an Otorohanga Community Board meeting on March 29, Ms Osborne presented a report recommending that a new 'gold card' option be available for Otorohanga District Library users.
The initiative had previously been discussed in January at a sub-committee meeting involving community board chairperson Graham Wilshier, member Liz Cowan, ODC chief executive David Hall, finance and administration manager John Pevreal and Ms Osborne.
The "gold card' would see members pay set fee of $25 per year and receive free new fiction, new magazines, general fiction, large print, non-fiction and children's books.
They would also receive new fiction renewals for $2; new magazine renewals for $1 and overdue charges of 20c per item per day.
Ordinary membership would allow readers free general fiction, large print, non-fiction and children's books, however they would have to pay $2 to borrow new fiction and $1 to borrow new magazines.
The cost of overdue charges and renewing new fiction and new magazines would be the same as in the 'gold card' membership package.
"Although the changes may initially result in some revenue shortfall, it is anticipated that a rebranding o€ the subscription membership will lead to a greater number of people choosing this option than is currently the case," stated Ms Osborne in her report.
Standard membership currently costs $25 and entitles readers to free fiction, excluding new fiction.
Board members Kit Jeffries and Liz Cowan both voiced their support for'the 'gold card' initiative.
"I would like to see how the card works. I think it's worth giving a try. I do fully support Sarah in suggesting the free non-fiction as if we have these resources sitting there we want them to be used," said Ms Cowan.
"Anything that encourages literacy should be supported;" said Mr Jeffries.
He suggested council also look at including audio-visual items in the "gold card" membership, but it was decided the proposed package was already satisfactory enough.
"I personally feel there are enough sweeteners in the $25 package to encourage people to join up," said Mrs Cowan.
The community board agreed to recommend to council that the proposed changes be made.
The library also intends to investigate expanding its audio-visual collection to include DVDs and music CDs.