Press Release:

Federated Mountain Clubs Federated Mountain Clubs Welcomes Te Urewera Tuhoi Settlement

Invercargill, 4 June 2013

Trampers welcome the Ngāi Tuhoe settlement signed in Wellington today. FMC President, Mr Robin McNeill, says the settlement redresses the iwi’s past injustices while protecting the conservation and recreation values of the former Urewera National Park. Federated Mountain Clubs has engaged with both Ngāi Tuhoe and the Office of Treat Settlement for some years, says Mr McNeill, who believes that there is a high level of trust on all sides.
“This settlement achieves much more than ensuring unrestricted and free access to Te Urewera”, Mr McNeill said. “It will be managed in a whole new way and we’re keen to help make it a success”.
Mr McNeill believes Ngāi Tuhoe will want to manage a taonga as special as Te Urewera as best as they possibly can. “Enduring settlements are about bringing people together and respecting each others values. This settlement will achieve that end”.
Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand represents over 16,000 trampers and climbers who belong to some 83 clubs, and advocates for the more than 180,000 New Zealanders who enjoy tramping and mountaineering.

For more information:
Robin McNeill
president@fmc.org.nz
(021) 516 366

Photo: Sue McKee, Hutt Valley Tramping Club – FMC is a sponsor of the Kea Conservation Trust