Recently, in response to numerous complaints and as a last-ditch effort, TRM filed a complaint with the Ombudsman. Thank you to so many for their support. The response follows:
Our ref CASE-041041 (GROUND-0049668)
Contact Maeve Burns
27 May 2026
Ross Baker
By email: ONZF@bigpond.com
ross@tongarirorivermotel.co.nz
Kia ora Ross,
I refer to your emails of 7, 18, 19, and 25 May 2026.
You have complained about the degradation of the Tongariro River environment, specifically in regard to the Tongariro Power Project run by Genesis Energy. You have also raised numerous concerns about various local Councils and their handling of the matter.
This email explains the role of the Ombudsman, and why we are not investigating your concerns.
The role of the Ombudsman
The Ombudsman’s role is to investigate complaints about specific administrative acts or decisions of those central and local government agencies that are listed in the Ombudsmen Act 1975 (OA).
The Ombudsman doesn’t have any jurisdiction to investigate a complaint about Genesis Energy, because it is not listed in the Schedule to the OA.
The Ombudsman does have the jurisdiction to consider complaints about local Council. However, a complainant is generally expected to have exhausted all other reasonably available ways of resolving the matter before the Ombudsman will investigate. This includes formally complaining to the chief executive of the agency, who is often in a position to resolve the matter or provide an explanation.
I also note that there are some additional limitations on the Ombudsman’s power to investigate complaints involving councils. Where the decision has been made by the full body of elected members of a council (the ‘committee of the whole’), the Ombudsman is unable to investigate that decision, as the powers of the Ombudsman do not include the right to review the exercise of the collective judgement of council members. In other words, the Ombudsman cannot review the political decisions of a full council, including any substantive decisions on governance arrangements made by the full Council.
It is not the role of the Ombudsman to consider a complainant’s overall dealings with an agency or the structure of Scheduled agencies on the basis of individual complaints, but specific acts or decisions.
Concerns about Genesis
As above, the Ombudsman doesn’t have any jurisdiction over Genesis Energy.
You may wish to raise your concerns with the Utilities Disputes Service, who has the jurisdiction to consider complaints about electricity companies, including Genesis Energy.
You may also wish to continue to pursue the matter through your local political representatives, including your local Member of Parliament.
Concerns about a local Council
If you wish to pursue a complaint about a specific act or decision by a local Council, you first need to make a formal complaint to the Chief Executive of that Council. I suggest you address your complaint directly to the Chief Executive, use the words ‘formal complaint’ and specify what your specific concerns are, what you are seeking to resolve the matter. This will allow the Council a chance to respond and resolve the matter with you directly.
If you are unhappy with the response you receive from the Council to your formal complaint, you can write to us again. If you choose to do so, please:
• identify the specific act or decision you are complaining about;
• provide a copy of your complaint to the Council and its response;
• explain why you feel the response is unreasonable; and,
• identify the outcome you are seeking.
Once this information has been provided, the extent to which the Ombudsman can assist will be determined.
As above, we won’t be taking any further action on your complaint. I appreciate this is not the response you were hoping for, but I hope this information is helpful.
Nāku noa, nā
Helen Copsey
TRM replied:
Thank you for your reply and the additional information.
If you have read the submissions, you will realise we have been fielding complaints about the aggradation problems of the Tongariro River for about 20 years. These have increased so much recently that we felt we had to do something to assist their cause.
All the guilty parties – councils, government departments, Electricity companies, DOC, fishing clubs, even cabinet ministers and MP’s, etc – have all been approached several times. They all acknowledge the problem, but none have enough initiative to combine and formalise the complaints.
That is where we – a little family motel – decided reluctantly to try to do it for them.
Now, like all the rest, we have failed, so we are naturally disappointed by the Ombudsman’s excuses.
You may be interested that last year we asked an experienced freshwater biologist for his opinion. He absolutely confirmed that aggradation was the primary cause resulting from the hydroelectric scheme. But he also advised that in the absence of a larger group to initiate any compensation claim to investigate a review, the process is likely to be protracted with only a modest chance of success.
But at least we tried…
That is more important to us.