No Wellington Delegation and Cathedral Cove Rehabilitation a Job for DOC and Iwi Says Mayor

By John Freer

Any conversation about Cathedral Cove must be led by the key stakeholders responsible for the whenua, this according to Thames Coromandel Mayor, Len Salt, in response to a visit this week by the Minister for Tourism to the closed iconic tourism track.

The Mayor yesterday provided this information to CFM when asked to comment on the visit by the Hon Matt Doocey.

“I have been consistently clear that our role at Council, and my role as Mayor, is to take a leadership position in advocating for a solution directly to the Ministers.

“This has been done in close cooperation with Scott Simpson, as party whip and our local MP, and I want to thank Scott for his work in setting up these meetings,” advised the Mayor.

He ruled out taking a delegation to Wellington, which he previously recommended, this decision since both the Tourism and Conservation Ministers had both now visited the site.

“The details of the planned rehabilitations will be a matter for DOC (the Department of Conservation) and Ngati Hei, as guardians and kaitiaki of the land.”

Mayor Len said the commitment is that both Ministers will meet in the next couple of weeks, to help provide a pathway for all stakeholders to work together on short and long-term solutions for Cathedral Cove, something he will follow up on.

While here, Tourism Minister Doocey also visited the eastern seaboard including Whitianga through to Whangamata.

There were meetings with Ngati Hei, Destination Hauraki-Coromandel, along with representatives from the tourism and hospitality sector.

Mayor Len said all the meetings he attended were extremely constructive and while perspectives may have differed, everyone was in alignment with two of our most important priorities, these being roading resilience and support for the tourism sector.