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Whakatōhea hapū upset trust board lifting rāhui for 'commercial activities'

Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board (WMTB) will lift their rāhui throughout Whakatōhea rohe moana put in place following the Whakaari White Island eruption at a special dawn blessing in two days time.

Board chair Robert Edwards in a pānui to iwi members said one of the reasons why the rāhui was being lifted at a special blessing below Paerata Ridge on Monday morning was to allow commercial activities to continue.

"We may never know when our lost two souls will be found, and it is with the greatest respect that we lift this rāhui to allow commercial activities to continue," Edwards says in the pānui issued on behalf of the board.

However, this has angered some Te Whakatōhea hapū who say their rāhui will remain in place until their tohunga remove them.

Te Upokorehe say their rāhui will remain for Maraetotara stream in the west to Waioeka River in the east.  Te Upokorehe iwi chair Wayne Aramoana told Te Ao today that the tribe’s tohunga Wallace Aramoana, who placed the rāhui, will be the only person to remove the rāhui on their behalf.

Ngāi Tamahauā Trust trustee Dawn Hill also spoke with Te Ao. She says, "Remember back then the calibre of our tohunga were very staunch. They did their mahi in the early hours of darkness. There were no signs but a wide respect for tikanga and rāhui placed on our moana and whenua. We try our best in today's world but are always challenged by such decisions as those presented by the WMTB.

“The rāhui is a full prohibition and tikanga will not be compromised, Hill says.

"It will be too hard to monitor as the WMTB have already breached the rāhui by notifying it is ok to enjoy leisurely activities in the rivers etc. Our awa are connected to the moana, we are all connected and it is vital that the spiritual protection is respected.

"We still have two more people out there with Whakaari. My personal belief is that the rāhui should remain on Whakaari around her, above and below even when the rāhui of the sea space has been lifted until the bodies are recovered," she says.