Botched Ruapehu concession jeopardises Tūroa’s operations

Problems with Pure Tūroa’s ability to operate on Mt Ruapehu mean the skifield will need to embark on another lengthy concession process with the Department of Conservation.
Pure Tūroa, which is a quarter owned by the Crown, is at risk of being unable to deal in summer tourism – and its 2025 ski season is potentially jeopardised.
Pure Tūroa was granted a ten-year concession in April this year, allowing the company to open in time for the 2024 season.
Department of Conservation concessions, in the form of licences or leases, are essential to carry out business in the park.
While iwi raised concerns frequently throughout the concession process, it now appears it has also fallen short of Pure Tūroa’s expectations and requirements.
Among the first issues to arise for the company was that the current concession didn’t allow for slope preparation or avalanche control outside of the ski area.
Essential for health and safety, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka had used powers granted to him under section 51A of the National Parks Act to allow the company to undertake these activities.
On top of that, the concession document only allows the company to sell ski-lift tickets and operate the ski-lifts during the winter ski season, which stretches from June 1 to November 30.
Without an alteration to the concession document, this means the company would be unable to operate the lifts to bring in money over the summer months.
Emails released under the Official Information Act revealed that dealing to these issues would require a notifiable application, which would take a minimum of six months, with “a perfect application” required to meet this timeframe.
The department’s guidelines say concessions can take from just four months right through to 20.5 months to get approved.
A perfect application would include a cultural impact assessment and an environment impact assessment report.
A usual part of obtaining Department of Conservation concessions, a cultural impact assessment, wasn’t filed before Minister Potaka granted the company a concession.
At the time, Potaka said cultural issues raised through the concession process, including the omission of a cultural impact assessment report, will be dealt with during a year three review of operations.
Even if a perfect application was submitted, in an email dated early September, the department said it could not be achieved in time for the coming summer.
In an email from Pure Tūroa founder and shareholder Cameron Robertson to the Department of Conservation, dated September 11, said given the recent challenges faced by the region, such as the closure of the Winstone Pulp mill, it was “absolutely” the company’s intention to utilise the existing lift infrastructure for the summer period “to support the region and play our part in stimulating economic activity”.
“There has a clear oversight and mis-alignment of the principles of the park plan (and by extension the Conservation Act) in the preparation of the Pure Tūroa Concession,” Robertson’s email said.
He said the original suggestion from the department was that the summer operations aspect could be dealt to as a technical variation, meaning it wouldn’t require such long timeframes and the same degree of stakeholder engagement.
The email went on to say cultural impact assessment and environment impact assessment reports were “overly excessive” for these variations.
Robertson pointed to aspects of the Tongariro National Park Management Plan that supported the company being able to carry out business over the summer, including that ski areas may be utilised for summer activities without expanding the range of facilities provided for the principal winter use.
The concession “contradicts” the park plan, he says.
The Department of Conservation said it had altered its treatment of the summer usage variation since the emails viewed by Newsroom, saying a decision was made that public notification would not be required for this aspect.
The Department’s guidelines say non-notifiable applications can take between 4 to 6 months.
Pure Tūroa did not respond in time for publication.
Regardless, the company will need to go through a notified variation process for avalanche control before next winter.
In order to hit that six month minimum timeframe the Department suggested iwi engagement – required under the park plan – should already be underway.
Robertson’s email said the process to engage iwi had been initiated. “While iwi have been exceptionally busy recently, they recognise the significant importance of this matter to the local community, especially in light of the recent closure of the Winstone Pulp Mill and Saw Mill.
“We anticipate their support will be both prompt and forthcoming.”
Dealing with iwi groups, of which there are many who see Mt Ruapehu as sacred or as an ancestor, has concerned the company in the past.
A summary of feedback on the draft concession document, also released under the Official Information Act, said Pure Tūroa was concerned that groups/individuals with “limited or no connects to the maunga” might assert rights to be consulted.
The company wanted to define treaty partners as only iwi leadership that are, or are likely to be, party to the Tongariro national Park Settlement.
In response the department said defining with precision which iwi should have input was problematic as it was context dependent and could inadvertently exclude treaty partners yet to be established, such as post settlement governance entities.
The department said the concession usually had the qualified relevant whenever there was reference to treaty partners, as well as a list of iwi and hapū with a strong interest in the mountain.
The practice of continual cultural monitoring, particularly the costs involved, were also a concern for Pure Tūroa, which proposed appointing its own staff member to do the role and otherwise limit cultural monitoring.
The Department of Conservation’s response was that it didn’t consider a Pure Tūroa staff member would be sufficient to meet iwi interests in how the activity was undertaken – but that it acknowledged concerns around the fees associated with cultural monitoring, which were capped for the first three years of the concession.
*This story has been updated to include the Department of Conservation’s confirmation that summer lift use will no longer be a notified process.*