Skifield company RAL is trying to exert its rights on Mt Ruapehu, causing tension

Friday, 21 September 2018

Colin Baker attended a meeting at Whakapapa with a support person where RAL chief executive Ross Copland issued him with a trespass notice.

OPINION: The banning of shuttle bus driver Colin Baker from Mt Ruapehu skifield facilities is just the latest flare-up in an ongoing battle between corporate and public interests on the mountain.

Baker has been a thorn in the side of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) management for years, often clashing with staff and speaking out publicly against the company.

His refusal to leave the Alpine Cafe on Turoa last Friday when he was confronted about eating his own food was the final straw - chief executive Ross Copland moved to trespass him from RAL facilities and even involved police.

But RAL's approach hasn't helped things - although it's a not-for-profit and doesn't pay tax it's seen by some as having a corporate attitude where making money trumps all else.

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Ross Copland is the chief executive of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts chief executive.

Last season it hit choppy waters when it started charging for snow play, and this year people are complaining about having to pay $2 for a cup of hot water if they want to bring their own noodles and $10.50 for a punnet of chips.

The skifields sit within a National Park and RAL has a Department of Conservation concession to operate there, which gives it some rights.

Documents obtained by Stuff under the Official Information Act show that even RAL is confused about exactly what powers it has.

Shuttle operator Colin Baker has been banned from Whakapapa and Turoa ski area facilities.

Copland, who took over the role in late 2016, emailed a DoC manager in May, 2017 asking for clarification on what the company could and couldn't do, as the various concessions, plans and statutes governing access to the park seemed to 'contradict each other'.

'Some terms specify that RAL can't impede public access while others state that we have rights as a concessionaire,' Copland wrote.

He said he wanted to 'manage this proactively' in 2017 as he understood police had to be called to remove members of the public the previous season.

One of the key areas where RAL regularly had conflicts with the public, Copland wrote, was people saying RAL had to provide shelter to users of the mountain 'and so you can't stop me having my BYO food/drinks in here'.

Copland said his understanding was that RAL was required to provide shelter and toilets as a means to protect life in adverse weather but that didn't give people the right to consume BYO food in its licensed restaurants and cafes.

DoC agreed, saying the Tongariro National Park Management Plan required RAL to provide emergency public shelter and a shelter was provided at Iwikau near Whakapapa.

'RAL have the right to manage cafes and restaurants and decide how they are operated,' the manager wrote.

Copland also complained about people's attitudes to car parking, some saying they could park wherever they liked as it was a National Park and that RAL couldn't charge.

RAL has introduced 'premium' car parking as part of its $499 a season Platinum Lift Pass package.

DoC said RAL was required to include the cost of car parking in lift ticket prices. 'There is a gap in that if people are not intending to purchase a lift ticket then there is no provision for RAL to recover the costs of car parking.'

Copland suggested RAL had the right to remove vehicles from 'no parking' areas, but DoC said its licence didn't provide that power.

Copland wrote that some people said 'you can't stop me walking across this piece of land. It's a National Park - if I want to go sledding/skiing here I can and I don't have to pay'.

He said RAL had no issue with people using the sledding area 'provided they have paid the fare for doing so. We have invested literally millions of dollars in snowmaking and grooming equipment to make snow and prepare the piste'.

DoC replied that the public had a right of entry 'provided of course that they do not attempt to avail themselves of the privileges of a paying client. RAL are required to actively provide for snow play activities and may impose a reasonable charge for the provision of infrastructure and services to support this'.

It appears that Copland's efforts to clamp down on what he perceives as some people taking advantage of RAL has backfired to some degree, with many mountain users seeing it as a corporate big-wig flexing his muscle.