New Zealand is facing a significant freedom of speech crisis. Across the country, people dependent on their business or employment income are being intimidated into silence regarding the influence of the tribal elite over many aspects of our lives. It’s not just about expressing personal opinions but about elected representatives, public servants and private business operators being silenced when it comes to the facts.
After the publication of my article DOC Promotes Ancestral Privilege late last month – see HERE – I was contacted by some professionals from the tourism, conservation, recreation, and infrastructure sectors. They shared their concerns (based on anonymity) about how the situation has already reached an alarming point.
For instance, they described how the Department of Conservation (DOC) in the South Island appears to have delegated full control of operations to the Ngāi Tahu corporation. Tribal executives now strongly influence DOC’s planning, conservation work, and concession/resource management granting and renewals (controlling applicants using coercive tactics and wielding the power of veto).
You’ll no doubt recall how Meridian Energy was reluctant to reveal the exact amount it paid Ngāi Tahu as it sought to renew resource consents for its Waitaki Hydro Power Scheme.
Payouts to DOC, Fish & Game, and Ngāi Tahu are part of a $180 million package Meridian (and therefore consumers of electricity) were obliged to pay. Ngāi Tahu’s take is thought to be over $100 million.
Business owners affected by growing iwi control are too afraid to speak out or make formal submissions about DOC’s discriminatory practices, fearing it could cost them their livelihoods. And job applicants stand no chance if they can’t demonstrate total support for the obligatory Māori narrative.
That’s why NZ urgently needs the support of retired individuals or those whose livelihoods are not yet affected by government or iwi control. You have the freedom to speak up for those Kiwis who feel unable to do so themselves. I encourage anyone, who can, to take up this cause, as the consequences for New Zealanders—including Māori who are not part of the leadership elite—will only worsen if this takeover continues.
TAXPAYER-SUBSIDISED COMMERCE IS THE NEW ‘INDIGENOUS CULTURE’
DOC’s proposed Conservation Amendment Bill (2026) could effectively hand control of our public lands to tribal entities, with taxpayers continuing to bear the associated costs. DOC’s plan would prioritise race-based governance and business interests in our national parks, reserves, and conservation areas—disadvantaging other New Zealanders and limiting both their recreational and business opportunities.
While many government-iwi laws and agreements negatively impact New Zealanders, uncovering the full facts and financial details can be challenging. Here are just a few examples of how such deals have played out:
- Te Urewera National Park Fiasco
In 2014, the government reached a $170 million treaty settlement with Tūhoe (a tribe that never signed the Treaty of Waitangi). Control of Te Urewera National Park was handed to a board controlled by the tribe. DOC was expected to provide funding and expertise while Tūhoe took charge of operations. However, by 2022, Tūhoe had closed the park to outdoor enthusiasts and prevented DOC from maintaining infrastructure or carrying out pest control measures. The result? Overgrown tracks, unsafe bridges, filthy huts and out-of-control pests.
Tūhoe then began dismantling 44 DOC huts essential to trampers and hunters. Despite a public outcry (including Tūhoe’s own members) and legal intervention, 29 huts were destroyed or burned before any corrective action was taken. Although the park was eventually reopened following an expensive court case, DOC continues to fund Te Urewera to the tune of $2.2 million per year, while public access remains limited.
- The Extravagant Punakaiki Rort
In 2024, the $45.5 million Punangairi Visitor Centre was completed at Punakaiki (well over time and over budget with a whizzbang multimedia show). It was built by DOC with public funds, then gifted to Ngāti Waewae, a West Coast hapu of Ngāi Tahu, for ownership and management. Taxpayers then had to pay for DOC to lease space in the Centre for public services and facilities, despite having funded its construction.
Reports indicate that visitors have found the entrance fees prohibitively high, and DOC has had to step in and provide staffing—at additional taxpayer expense. Furthermore, it seems that DOC is still paying Ngāti Waewae to maintain its public services on the premises.
- Undermining of Milford Sound Tourism
DOC’s plan for Fiordland National Park expired in 2017 and an $18m planning exercise (the Milford Opportunities Project) ‘stymied development for years’ and has now shut down without any announcements.
Milford Sound Tourism Ltd (MSTL) operates Real NZ and Southern Discoveries cruises at Milford Sound. The Company understood they had 60-year concessions – from 1990 to 2050. They have built and run significant infrastructure, apparently paid for by tourism levies (including the ferry terminal with public amenities, breakwaters, carparks and sewage system). The Company has also invested $40m in assets.
But DOC has been arguing that MSTL’s concessions expired in 2020 but has offered an extension to 2028. It’s understood that Ngāi Tahu would then be invited to bid for the concessions.
MSTL has spent hundreds of thousands arguing their case directly with DOC without any acceptable outcome, so now may have to ‘contest the forfeiting of their property rights’ in the courts. The Conservation Minister, Tama Potaka, has nothing to say other than he’s waiting for advice from DOC.
MSTL had continued to invest (including $700,00 upgrading the sewage plant) but are now, unsurprisingly, holding back on further investments. It’s unclear what would happen to their company assets if the tribe won (which they would, with their legal, tax and preferment advantages over non-tribal operators).
Other operators are now complaining that infrastructure is not now being maintained, and Health & Safety rules mean that their clients and fishermen have trouble accessing toilet facilities/parking.
Meanwhile, dozens of DOC’s other fixed-term tourism ‘permissions’ have expired, including those of another 4 cruise operators. They’re being allowed to continue operating on a rolling basis without any tenure security.
- Control and ‘Decolonisation’ of Auckland’s Natural Resources
To briefly digress from DOC, ongoing developments in the Auckland region (where a third of our population lives) highlight a concerning trend of increasing tribal control of, in this instance, our outdoor spaces, water catchments and some private land.
The creation of the Auckland Super City in 2010, alongside the establishment of the ratepayer-funded Independent (sic) Māori Statutory Board, gave unelected and unaccountable Māori representatives disproportionate control over Council decisions.
The subsequent 2014 Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Deed granted the Tūpuna Maunga Authority control over Auckland’s 14 volcanic cones, with obligatory ratepayer funding. This led to costly and large-scale stripping of beautiful, healthy trees, often planted by much earlier residents to suit geological and climatic conditions. Ratepayers continue to bear the financial burden of this ‘decolonisation’ while private citizens are also having to fund legal action against the destruction.
Now the Council is considering co-governance with two tribes – Te Kawerau a Maki and Ngāti Whātua – over Auckland’s Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and Heritage Area.
Te Kawerau a Maki wants to restrict public access to 35% of the regional park and eliminate 19 tracks. It also wants the establishment of a co-managed Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Forum, which would control approximately 27,700ha of public and private land, including the Waitākere Ranges, foothills, coastal areas and the municipal water supply infrastructure which includes five dams.
Click HERE for a map of the proposed co-governance area.
WHERE IS THIS ALL HEADING?
Despite the Coalition Government’s stated opposition (but mostly inaction) to race-based preferential treatment in public services, it remains open to tribal control of public assets through new legislation, generous “Treaty settlements”, “Deeds of Acknowledgement/Redress” and local government’s ideology.
The latest proposals echo the former Labour government’s He Puapua agenda, gifting greater tribal control and commercial opportunities in conservation and recreation areas.
This is particularly concerning as our public lands are essential for recreation, tourism, hydro power, water supplies and income from our natural resources. The proposed changes suggest that the benefits of such activity may not be shared by many New Zealanders in the future.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please take a moment to push back against any policies that prioritise the tribal elite’s goals over the public good.
- Contact Auckland Councillors here: Ward councillors
- Make your submission on DOC’s proposals by February 28, 2025 here: DOC Consultation Page
Your voice matters—please act now to keep our public lands for the benefit of all New Zealanders.