Tūwharetoa pulls plug on Ruapehu skifields purchase

Wednesday, 13 September 2023

Ngāti Tūwharetoa has decided not to bid for control of its mountain’s skifields and could block efforts to sell them to commercial entities.

Ngāti Tūwharetoa has pulled the pin on plans to buy Whakapapa and Tūroa skifields and has warned the Government it could take it to court if any sale went ahead.

In a letter sent to Māori-Crown Relations agency Te Arawhiti, Te Kotahitanga o Ngāti Tūwharetoa Trust chief executive Nigel Chee said the business case did not stack up.

The contents of the letter were revealed by Newsroom this week, however, Chee did not respond to multiple requests for comment or to requests to view the contents of the letter.

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton said the mood was positive after a great ski season, but the future of the skifields was “shaky at best”.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) is still running operations on the mountain after its board put the company into voluntary administration in October last year, and into liquidation on June 21.

Chee said in his letter; “We have undertaken commercial and legal due diligence with the support of KPMG and Bell Gully which has demonstrated that the ability for any operator to continue operating the ski fields requires a significant increase and expansion of operations for there to be commercial viability.”

But, he said any expansion of operations on the mountain were incompatible with Ngāti Tūwharetoa’s values and ethos.

Whakapapa skifield has seen ample snow fall this season, but its future remains in doubt.

“Our investigations highlighted that there are key unknowns which mean that exposing iwi capital to a ski field without the Crown as a partner would be imprudent.”

Chee said the iwi also had to consider the Department of Conservation’s concession licence over the skifields, and yet to be completed treaty settlement negotiations for Tongariro National Park.

“While the Crown may choose to pursue the track it has to date, we would prefer the Crown work with us to develop an acceptable transition plan that would operate until the successful conclusion of the Tongariro National Park settlement negotiations.

“If our non-legal options are exhausted we will seek a comprehensive, evidence-based discovery process to identify and quantify the impact of the Crown’s preferred solution(s).”

Taupō MP Louise Upston said she was not privy to negotiations, but the ski fields were critical to the region’s economy and wanted to see the fields remain open.

“Everybody wants to see some certainty around the mountain and its future … it’s been a stressful time for everyone and we need to act with pace to come to a solution.”

Ruapahu Skifield Shareholders Association spokesperson Sam Clarkson said he felt the liquidation process was being run by bureaucrats and consultants who had “managed to completely balls it up with local iwi, and the iwi have told them to ‘stick that process, we’ll be doing it our way’”.

“The one thing I know about iwi is that they won’t be rushed.”

Clarkson said in this case, the Companies Act was not fit for purpose and RAL should be pulled out of liquidation, its debts forgiven, and be reinstated with a new board and management team who “understand how to run a skifield”.

He agreed with Chee’s comments that running the skifields as commercial operations - where they paid tax, aimed to make profits and pay shareholders dividends - was not viable.

“Sticking with the status quo is probably the worst thing we could do at the moment.”

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton said he had not seen the letter from Tūwharetoa but had seen recent media reports.

“It goes against the grain of a real mood of optimism in the district with a great ski season this year, but the long-term is shaky at best and I hope common sense will prevail.

“The mood is buoyant here, I’ve heard from accommodation providers that everything has been booked out for at least the next five weeks.”