Spiritual Pathway Acknowledged In Cape Reinga Partnership

Conservation Minister Nick Smith has met today with members of the Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga) Working Party and Ngati Kuri kaumauta to discuss the working party report on the future management of Te Rerenga Wairua and visitor facilities at that locality.

"The Cape is a place of huge spiritual significance to Maori and a national icon for all New Zealanders. The facilities are a disgrace and have been a source of tension between Maori and the Government over its management. Today we have taken a positive step forward in acknowledging its cultural significance and starting a process for developing facilities in which all New Zealanders can take pride".

"I have instructed the Department to proceed with the surveying of 75 hectares of land at the tip of the Cape for reclassification as a historic reserve. The Te Rerenga Wairua Historic Reserve will incorporate the land identified as being spiritually significant and in which commercial activity will be prohibited. Work will also begin on transferring the current Maritime Safety Authority land into the new historic reserve status."

The new reserve will be subject to a process of public consultation and will include easements with the Maritime Safety Authority for the lighthouse facilities and a guarantee of ongoing free public access for the general public.

"Agreement has also been reached in principle for the co-operative management with Ngati Kuri of the historic reserve, but the appointment of an appropriate management body will not take place until the process of reclassification is complete. There is a delicate balance in Treaty mandating issues in Muriwhenua and we need to ensure that any of these issues are resolved in advance of decisions relating to appointment to control, manage or vest the reserve. However, the reserve will be managed by the Department in co-operation with Ngati Kuri in the interim."

"I am excited about Ngati Kuri's feasibility study for future visitor facilities at the Cape, outside the proposed historic reserve. There is huge potential for investment in this facility and I encourage Ngati Kuri to discuss the proposal with other parties interested in promoting commercial opportunities for tourism in Northland."

"I thank Ngati Kuri for their constructive work that has taken place in getting us this far. This is a positive first step but if the Cape is to be protected and developed to its full potential there is a lot of work ahead. The key will be working together."