Call for public say on future of Taranaki Maunga

A call is out for people with a heart for Taranaki Maunga to share their ideas about the future of the mountain and surrounding national park.

A new management plan is being written for the protection, access and use of Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki – formerly Egmont National Park.

People are asked to contribute what they value most about Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, including important places and experiences, future opportunities, and any concerns that need consideration.

Last year’s Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Act for the wrongful confiscation of the Maunga recognised the park’s peaks and surrounds as ancestral mountains which jointly became a legal person, Te Kāhui Tupua.

Public input is being sought before a new management plan is written for Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki.

Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi is the board representing Te Kāhui Tupua, and its chair Liana Poutu said public input came before any substantial work on the management plan.

“This feedback period is prior to us actually drafting anything.

“It's an opportunity for individuals, organisations, whānau, people in our community to provide feedback on what they’d like to see in the plan, what are the key issues … we might have to be grappling with, and what their views are on those issues.”

Poutu said the Maunga redress law required engagement with some organisations before public comment, and that would now expand.

“The offer is open for any organisation that wants to engage in this process … and we will organise to come and meet with [them].”

The scope included recreational and commercial users, iwi, hapū, whānau, councils, and government agencies.

Input can cover the park overall or particulars including tracks, areas of significance, huts, waterways, visitor experiences, activities or other features.

There had been some public fears of restricted access, but Poutu said the redress law was clear Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki must remain a national park with public access guaranteed.

She said park management plans typically had a restrictive focus on what was allowed and prohibited, but the new plan would have a relational foundation.

“What are the various relationships with our maunga and Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, and what are what are the responsibilities that go with those relationships?

“It's a really different way to approach this planning process.”

A new website offers an online survey and address for email submissions until October 20, and workshops or community drop-in sessions are being planned across Taranaki.

The management plan – He Kawa Ora mō Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki – will then be drafted by Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi, made up of four members each from iwi and the Crown.

In mid-2027 the plan is up for formal public consultation, and review by the regional Conservation Board and the New Zealand Conservation Authority.

The completed plan finally needs joint approval by the Minister of Conservation and Te Tōpuni Ngārahu, which has representatives from the eight iwi of Taranaki.

nā Craig Ashworth craig@tekorimako.co.nz

LDR is local body journalism hosted by Te Korimako o Taranaki and funded by Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa and Irirangi te Motu