Newstalk ZB obtained the document after an Official Information Act request to DoC.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recommend continuing to investigate a lease as, if successful, it offers regional economic benefit, restores visitor services, preserves heritage values and minimises long-term Crown costs,\u201d officials told Potaka.<\/p>\n
Despite the recommendation, officials warned a commercial lease comes with risks.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo date, feedback from Treaty partners indicates concerns regarding insufficient DOC process, not upholding Treaty settlement commitments, and constraining a future Treaty settlement, as well as a general preference for demolition and possible replacement,\u201d the briefing read.<\/p>\n
Officials said Treaty partners wanted to \u201creimagine the future\u201d for Whakapapa Village, including requests for a \u201cmaster plan\u201d from Patutokotoko, Ng\u0101ti Hikairo ki Tongariro, and Whakapapa Holdings, the latter of which runs the Whakapapa skifield on Mount Ruapehu.<\/p>\n
Potaka said no decisions have been made on the long-term future of the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn RFP process was undertaken to identify potential operators to progress the matter. Continuing to investigate a potential concession will ensure any future decision is informed by both an assessment of commercial viability and the views of Treaty partners,\u201d Potaka told Newstalk ZB.<\/p>\n
A hui in July, attended by representatives of Te Korowai o Wainui\u0101rua and Ng\u0101ti Hikairo ki Tongariro, expressed a preference for demolition, according to the briefing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDemolition was viewed as a necessary first step toward a new vision for TNP [Tongariro National Park] that better reflects their rights and interests, in partnership with DoC. This could include replacement with a cultural centre which betters integrates with the maunga and respects cultural heritage,\u201d officials said.<\/p>\n
The agency added Treaty partners did not support a commercial lease, as there were \u201cconcerns that it could further alienate mana whenua, prioritises a more recent history rather than an indigenous\/cultural narrative and constrain future Treaty settlements\u201d.<\/p>\n
Potaka was advised options to a lease, such as demolition and decommissioning were \u201ccostly\u201d.<\/p>\n
The minister was told reopening the Chateau could \u201ccontribute an estimated $56m of economic benefit for the region (net present value) over 60 years\u201d as well as other regional benefits and creating jobs.<\/p>\n
The agency provided Potaka with a detailed analysis of options, which officials said was based on Treaty partner rights and interests, Treaty implications, cost to the Crown, statutory purpose, legal risks, local economic impact and wider public interest.<\/p>\n
A lease was described as delivering \u201cthe greatest economic impact, preserves the heritage asset, restores village activity, and potentially avoids substantial Crown expenditure\u201d.<\/p>\n
The \u201cdisadvantages\u201d to pursuing a commercial lease were redacted in the OIA response.<\/p>\n
The Department of Conservation said demolition was “most likely to meet iwi aspirations”.<\/p>\n
Legal risks, presented as part of the three options, were fully redacted.<\/p>\n
Department of Conservation asset management director Shan Baththana told Newstalk ZB the agency analysed long-term options against relevant criteria.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this assessment supports continuing to investigate the commercial viability of a lease, DoC has not identified a preferred option and no decision has been made,\u201d Baththana said.<\/p>\n
Officials added there would be a \u201cstrongly negative public perception\u201d of demolition, given the chateau\u2019s heritage status. The agency told Potaka potential negative tourism and employment effects could be mitigated with an alternative strategy for the village designed with Treaty partners.<\/p>\n
Department of Conservation officials said demolition would come with a “strongly negative public perception”.<\/p>\n
The late-July briefing described the site\u2019s \u201cdeteriorating condition\u201d as a \u201cfinancial liability\u201d for DoC.<\/p>\n
Officials suggested decommissioning the site could slow deterioration but would not prevent it. Potaka was told the site would remain an \u201cabandoned building eyesore\u201d if this were to go forward.<\/p>\n
Department of Conservation officials reiterated \u201cextensive restoration and earthquake strengthening\u201d were required for the site to open. <\/p>\n
A request for proposals (RFP) process identified six suitable respondents for further consideration, including one, whose name is redacted, cited as the \u201clead respondent\u201d.<\/p>\n
Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament\u2019s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newstalk ZB obtained the document after an Official Information Act request to DoC. \u201cWe recommend continuing to investigate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615605,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[16425,665,111383,138,21816,3088,1389,115151,31390,26034,22195,68923,14724,3273,50521,82258,48425,117,111,139,69,1523,217402,38957,312,11227,46029,6123,4576],"class_list":["post-615604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-appears","tag-around","tag-briefing","tag-business","tag-chateau","tag-commercial","tag-conservation","tag-crossroads","tag-demolition","tag-department","tag-doc","tag-favour","tag-further","tag-future","tag-iwi","tag-lease","tag-longterm","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-over","tag-prefer","tag-recommends","tag-says","tag-talk","tag-tongariro","tag-while","tag-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}