Reports of eight more huts being destroyed in Te Urewera are being investigated by Police.
The High Court halted a Department of Conservation endorsed plan by the Ngāi Tūhoe iwi settlement entity Te Uru Taumatua (TUT) to destroy 48 colonial-style huts, in early November after a legal challenge by some mana whenua and pākehā hunters opposed to the plan.
The Otamatuna Hut in the Waimana Valley was discovered ablaze by a pest control contractor in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
TUT said it had nothing to do with the blaze and is adhering to the ruling while the dispute remained before the courts.
They have been approached for comment on the latest reports.
29 of the huts have already been dismantled by Te Uru Tamatua, meaning that would only leave about 11 huts left.
A police spokeswoman said they had received a report that the eight huts had burned down.
“Police have begun making initial inquiries into the incident and the fires are believed to have occurred sometime between the 19 and 29 of November,” she said.
“The circumstances of the fires are yet to be determined and an investigation is ongoing.”
Hunter and ACT Party MP Nicole McKee (Ngāpuhi) told NZME the Police and Department of Conservation needed to act more forcefully and transparently to safeguard the remaining huts.
McKee says police never told anyone about the huts being burnt until they were asked.
“It is abhorrent these are being burned down. Police need to be transparent and DoC, they need to tell the community what is going on.”
McKee says if TUT really wants to replace the old huts with new ones, they should build them and show them to the public before they burn the existing ones down.
“They should build the new ones. It is a health and safety hazard for those that use Te Urewera.” she said.
