The threatening incriminating photo above was included in the schedule below, prepared by the tribe to squeeze payment from ill-advised anglers and accommodation providers who may have been unaware they were breaking the law.  This is in reference to staying in illegal accommodation for the disgusting purpose of making a profit out of exploiting the Tongariro River bounty, without their licence!

We plead guilty, in particular, to the requirement below:

8(b) Accommodation providers provide services: Accommodation providers offer guided fishing services to their customers and either subcontract or employ guides to deliver the services. In this case, the accommodation provider is required to apply for the licence, not the subcontractor or employee.

That is extortion!  For over 20 years, TRM have provided accommodation for many charitable causes, such as the REEL RECOVERY programme.  Even then, when many others kindly contribute to such a noble cause with free time and expenses, they have demanded payment of their extortion-style % commission.   So before you make any judgment, please read the blog posted yesterday and consider their terms of engagement repeated again below, which were meant to warn others that these thieves were demanding payment for accommodating tourists who came here trout fishing.  Unbelievable arrogance!

The photo of their marae was included with other photos to add some local native colour to the post.  I think it was taken from the roadside about fifteen years ago.  To us ignorant pakehas, it was like showing off the Head Office of the firm making the claims to pay them for being alive.  So you may have guessed by now that I was very “pissed off” at their ignorant arrogance and told them so in the nicest way.  To assist their case I submit the following personal information.

Now I am over 80 years of age I feel much more enlightened than ever, without having to bend to the will of these idiots who send out such ridiculous demands.  This is not the first time I have received such requests, and I have yet to yield to any such crude demands.

I am hoping they will take legal action to provide me an opportunity to expose them for what they are.  I can be so brave as I am a man of straw.  I own nothing.  My only identification is the passport above, issued by the Republic of Whangamomona.  This has as much legal credibility as their demands for payment.  The authorities refused to renew my driver’s licence when I turned 80, so I do not own a vehicle, apart from a bicycle, although that may be classified as a motel chattel.  I work as a laundry assistant in a 65-year-old friendly establishment designed to cater for anglers who, every day,  break the ridiculous rules of the Ngāti Tūrangitukua Māori Committee.  We encourage them to continue.

Fact sheet – guided fishing activities on Taupō Waters

If you want to run a commercial operation or undertake commercial activities on Taupō Waters, you must get permission from the Taupō Waters Trust in the form of a licence.

This includes the provision of guided fishing services on the waterways, streams and tributaries flowing into Lake Taupō and on the lake itself.

What is the Taupō Waters Trust?

1. Ngāti Tūwharetoa are the iwi that hold mana whenua and exercise kaitiakitanga over

Lake Taupō and parts of the broader catchment.

2. The Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board (the Trust Board) is the sole trustee of the Taupō Waters Trust and holds title to the Māori freehold land comprising the Taupō Waters.

What is the Taupō Waters?

3. The Taupō Waters is the land comprising the:

(a) entire bed of Lake Taupō;

(b) bed of the Waikato River from Lake Taupō to Te Toka a Tia (the Rock of Tia),

downstream from the Huka Falls; and

(c) beds of certain associated waterways, streams and tributaries flowing in Lake Taupō, (together, the Taupō Waters).

4. The space occupied by the water and the airspace above the water is also part of the Taupō Waters.

Why do I need to apply for a license?

5. In July 2021, the High Court issued a declaratory judgment confirming that the Trust Board, as the legal owner of Taupō Waters, has the right to require commercial users of the Taupō Waters to obtain rights to occupy or use the Taupō Waters and to charge commercial users for the same.

What types of activities are captured?

6. A licence is required for any commercial use of the Taupō Waters. Commercial uses include any activities in connection with the operation of a business and/or where the purpose of the activity (whether primarily or otherwise) is to generate profit or some other commercial gain from the operations which utilise Taupō Waters.

The ownership of the Taupō Waters was vested in the Trust Board, on behalf of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, under a Deed with the Crown in 2007. This 2007 deed superseded an earlier arrangement with the Crown dating back to 1992.

Guided fishing services and accommodation providers

7. The provision of guided fishing services on the Taupō Waters is a commercial activity that must be licensed by the Trust Board. This applies to services delivered on the waterways, streams and tributaries flowing in Lake Taupō as well as the lake itself.

8. We are aware of two main types of arrangements for the delivery of guided fishing services. These are as follows:

(a) Guides provide services: Individual guides or guiding businesses provide guided fishing services directly to clients in their own right. In this case, the guides or guiding businesses are required to apply for the licence.

(b) Accommodation providers provide services: Accommodation providers offer guided fishing services to their customers and either subcontract or employ guides to deliver the services. In this case, the accommodation provider is required to apply for the licence, not the subcontractor or employee.

How do I make an application for a licence?

9. You will need to complete and submit an application in order to obtain a licence from the Trust Board.

10. We have a copy of the Taupō Waters Commercial Users Policy which sets out:

(a) how to make an application for a commercial licence;

(b) the supporting information we will require from you; and

(c) the applicable fee structure.

11. Where your application is approved, we will send you a licence agreement for signing.

Once the licence agreement is signed by both parties, you have a legal right to access and use the Taupō Waters for the prescribed use in accordance with the terms of the license agreement.

I am a commercial operator on Taupō Waters. What happens if I don’t have a licence?

12. If a person or entity undertakes commercial activities on Taupō Waters without a licence, this will be a breach of the Trust Board’s property rights. In such cases, the

Trust Board will have certain legal remedies that it may decide to pursue, including through actions for trespass.

If you are unsure, please contact the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board

E: permissions@tuwharetoa.co.nz P: 07 386 8832

As a Taupo fishing licence holder, do you agree?