The public is fighting back at Ngāi Tahu’s plans to end the lease at a popular Kaikoura camping spot.

The Peketa Beach Holiday Park is on tribal property near Kaikoura that was vested in Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu as a Recreation Reserve as part of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998.

There is a campground lease in place that expires in June 2024.

Te Rūnanga has advised the lease holder the lease will not be renewed.

A spokesperson from Ngāi Tahu told Chris Lynch Media in February last year, “There are issues with the wastewater system that pose potential public health and environmental risks.  

“Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is working with the campground operators to ensure compliance with all relevant standards. Te Rūnanga is also considering long term, sustainable options for this site,” the spokesperson said.

But with the lease expiring in a few short months, passionate members of the public are encouraging Kiwis to sign a petition to keep the Peketa camp open, with a change.org petition currently sitting at around 3200 signatures.

The refusal to renew the Peketa camp’s lease follows the closure of other Kaikoura Coastal Area campgrounds including Boat Harbour, Omihi, Goose Bay and Paia Point. 

Many campers believe the closures are illegal.

Christchurch local Mel Ellen started Facebook group Goose Bay area – Save the Coastal Campgrounds in 2022, which has since attracted about 2000 followers, in a bid to see all coastal campgrounds reopened.

Because of the group’s popularity, Ellen has since brought on fellow campers Scotty Wilson and his dad Geoff Wilson to the Facebook admin team.

Ellen’s family has been camping in the area for the past 35 years, and they look forward to their holidays every year.

Another camper Ema Harnett-Moore, a 10th generation Kaikoura family, said that the camp is a “Kiwi icon”.

Harnett-Moore told Chris Lynch Media, “Lease holders Rex and Ruth have been the managers of this Kiwi asset for at least the last 26 years and have done an outstanding job.”

“All of the camping spots between Oraro and Peketa Beach have been shut and blocked with large concrete blocks and wire across the entrances leaving little to no options for Kiwis to holiday in a traditional Kiwi summer camping down at the beach with family and friends,” she said.

Furthermore, a letter to the editor to Kaikoura Star from camper Geoff Wilson was never published, where he claims the camp closures were “unlawful”. You can read Wilson’s letter here.

Wilson also sent a letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon where he strongly recommends that “immediate and decisive measures be taken to address this issue using the power of Section 27 of the Reserves Act to place Ngāi Tahu on notice”.

You can read the full letter here.

Wilson is yet to receive an acknowledgement from the PM’s office.

However, at Luxon’s election campaign stop in Rangiora last year, the question of what National planned to do about Ngāi Tahu closing coastal campgrounds in Kaikoura he said: “Treaty settlements are full and final. We don’t renegotiate treaty settlements.”

In a last-minute attempt to have the Government intervene, Geoff Wilson has also sent this letter to Hon Tama Potaka, which has also gone unanswered.

Potaka is the Minister for Conservation, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti and Māori Development.

Wilson wrote to Potaka to express his “deep concern and disappointment regarding the ongoing actions of Ngāi Tahu in relation to the land vested to them by the Crown under the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998”.

Following initial publication of this article, Ngāi Tahu Group Head Strategy and Environment Jacqui Caine told Chris Lynch Media, “Both Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura recognise the importance of the campground for Kaikōura. However, the wastewater system is unconsented and is at risk of contaminating the water supply and moana if it fails. This is a significant public health and environmental risk.

“An upgraded wastewater system would need to be installed at considerable cost in order for the Regional Council to approve a consent,” Caine said.

“Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura are discussing future options for the whenua. This includes considering the consent requirements for a campground to continue on the site as one possible option, and what is needed to ensure compliance with all legal requirements and regional planning rules.

“When a decision has been made, we will advise the campers and the community on the future use of this site. We will update the lease holders and campers in the coming months,” she said.

Questions to the Kaikoura District Council by Chris Lynch Media have gone unanswered.