New committee to advise on future of Motutere

Anew committee set up to advise on the future of the Motutere Recreation Reserve will hold its first meeting this week to outline how it will proceed and to elect a chairperson.

The inaugural meeting of the Motutere Recreation Reserve Management Plan Committee Meeting was to be held at the Motuoapa Fishing and Boating Club on November 30, at 10am with a 14-page agenda outlining the process for consultation and the scope of the committee.

The committee includes at least two Taupō District Council councillors and two representatives from Ngāti Rangiita, which hold mana whenua status over the area. Any recommendations it made would need to be ratified by the Taupō District Council.

The 32ha reserve includes about 10ha which is leased as a campground, with the lease expiring in 2038.

In a report prepared by council policy advisor Haydee Wood, feedback received by the committee through the review would help shape any future lease agreement for the campground and would include consideration for “future aspirations of the hāpu and the community”.

The council administers many reserves around the lake and the review process was being seen as a possible template for future reserve management reviews.

The process would start with a consultation period from December 4 - January 14, followed by a draft reserve management plan and another round of consultation between April and July 2024.

The council would then make a final decision in about September next year.

At the same time, in a separate process, the council and the Department

of Conservation were also investigating how to give “practical effect” to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, that would enable Ngāti Te Rangiita to “reconnect to their ancestral lands,” the report reads.

Vesting the reserve with the hāpu was one option being considered.

“This process is a separate project to the Reserve Management Plan review.

“There may be opportunity to combine consultation activities later in the process and the committee will be kept informed about progress made with this project,” Wood said in her report to the committee.