Concerning the closure of Goudies Road, may I add another closure by Timberland of which the public may not be aware and that is access to the Kaingaroa Forest.

Permitted access had been in existence for at least 30 years to my knowledge! With the present closure, fishermen, kayakers, hunters, trampers and campers have lost the use of a huge recreational area. Fishermen have lost the facility to fish many, many kilometers of the Rangitaiki River, the Wheao River, Wheao, Canal and Flaxy Lakes. The public have also lost the use of Te Awa Camp – a wonderful natural ‘cathedral’ of trees at a spot on the banks of the Rangitaiki River.

Since the early 1980’s I, as a secondary school teacher, would regularly take parties of high school students into the forest staying at the camp, doing some fishing and giving them the chance to experience the great outdoors.

In 1991 I was privileged to adjudicate at the World Fly Fishing Championships held largely in the Kaingaroa Forest. Seventeen nations took part and without exception all the competitors were enraptured about having such a wonderful facility available that simply required a free access permit.

Fish & Game advise us that the new forest owners – the collective Iwi – are perfectly happy for access to continue as before. Timberlands, however, who have a contract to grow and harvest trees are saying “KEEP OUT”.

So what’s going on here? Timberlands do not own the roads in the forest or the rivers and they certainly don’t own the fish!