Media Statement Sent on Behalf of Te Rūnanga O Makaawhio
Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio, representing the tangata whenua of the southern West Coast, confirms its firm opposition to the
proposed Haast-Hollyford road. The proposed route — from the Arawhata River in the north to near Wawahiwaka (Lake
Alabaster) in the south cuts right through the heart of our ancestral homelands.
As kaitiaki (guardians) of this land we owe it to this and future generations to ensure that the southernmost part of
our rohe is not spoiled in the name of commercial gain. We recognise and understand the importance of tourism to the
West Coast economy, as this is our home and livelihood too. However, some places are just too special. We don’t need
roads everywhere. Roads do not only bring tourists; they bring rubbish, pollution and open up new corridors for the
spread of pests.
Roads also bring extra demands for infrastructure, and already this summer the West Coast is bursting at the seams with
tourism, but with not enough toilets and rubbish facilities to service them. The remoteness and the feeling of being
alone in countryside that has scarcely known human contact already draws visitors to this area with the popular Ngai
Tahu-owned Hollyford Track guided walks. It does NOT need a highway slashed through the middle of it. This is the last
bastion of South Westland and as tangata whenua we will fight to keep it that way.
ENDS