Ngati Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana has told 1 NEWS the controversial Te Mata Peak walking track must be removed and the land restored before plans are put in place for a new "culturally sensitive" track with Craggy Range winery.
The two organisations have been at loggerheads after the winery built the walking track with resource consent from Hastings District Council on the eastern side of Te Mata Peak, without consulting the iwi for which the mountain is sacred.
After facing a backlash, the winery announced last year it would remove the track and restore the land but then reneged on that promise offering alternative options to keep the track.
However, this morning the pair announced a shock agreement to purchase 28 hectares of land on Te Mata Peak together, closing the original track and to instead build a culturally sensitive alternative track.
Ngahiwi Tomoana said in an interview with 1 NEWS removing the track is the number one priority and will begin today.
"That's what we've said right from the start, let's take the track out and remediate it as best we can. We know it can't be replaced to its original integrity but let's do it as best we can then we will talk about other things."
Ngahiwi Tomoana said buying the land in partnership with Craggy Range puts the iwi in a seat of power.
"We are buying in, not selling out, we are buying in to have full control of the process from here on in. Had we let things go on as they were and let the over cautiousness of the council now to proceed with anything, this could have dragged on five plus years, so now we have a good handle on it. We can manage the process and we have our own institutional experts that will help us with that."
It's a huge U-turn for Mr Tomoana as only two weeks ago he penned an open letter in which he labelled the wineries attitude towards the iwi as racist and said that Maori were being treated like "dumb savages from the wop-wops".
The deal came about after the chairman finally met face-to-face with Craggy Range Winery's Director Mary-Jeanne Hutchinson.
"The lawyers have been removed, the directors have been removed, so we have stripped out the middle layer, which I thought was creating a lot of static and we have met face-to-face and that genuineness of face to face is quite different to talking to third and fourth parties and because of that and some good fast and rapid negotiations underneath it all, we were able to come to some conclusion today."
"It's gone from hostile to nasty and personal, not to me, but to others and we want to arrest that and say 'let's bring a little sanity to it'. We know it won't satisfy all parties but now we have middle ground that we didn't have before."
A reference group had been set up by the Hastings District Council involving all interested parties to consider options to resolve the track issues.
The group welcomed the deal today and will continue to carry out their work, including a cultural assessment of an alternative track.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazelhurst said in a statement today the deal is positive.
"The agreement signed today by Craggy Range Winery and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, on behalf of whanāu/ hapū/iwi, is consistent with the current process Council is undertaking with other stakeholders and its Te Mata Peak Project Team.
"The three phase approach, which includes a cultural assessment and landscape assessment, will inform the work Craggy Range Winery and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated are doing on the design of the track."
That design is said to include a "safe car park for the community to use at the beginning of the track".
Craggy Range denied 1NEWS' request for an interview today but released a joint statement with Ngati Kahungunu saying the alternative track will be "spectacular" and attract tourism to the region.
"While no one wants to go through this process again, we believe out of this adversity we all have a better understanding of each other's view and are actually delivering a better solution for the whole community."
Ngati Kahungunu and Ngahiwi Tomoana will hold a meeting withi iwi members tomorrow to discuss their decision.
"We will meet as long as we need to meet to explain the current intervention and the reasons around it."
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