“BONES BENEATH THE BITUMEN” - 29 November 2025

The Ring is glowing hot tonight, whānau. It’s burning because it detects a lie so deep it’s buried under 1.4 kilometres of asphalt and colonial audacity.

On December 1, 2025, the Rotokākahi Board of Control (RBOC) heads to the High Court to fight the Rotorua Lakes Council (RLC) RNZ. The Council claims they must dig a trench through a wāhi tapu (sacred burial ground) to save Lake Tarawera from sewage.

A solitary Māori kaitiaki standing firm on a misty road at dawn, facing down heavy construction machinery, with the ghostly silhouette of Mt Tarawera in the background

They call it “public interest.” The Ring calls it dispossession by infrastructure.

I’ve run the numbers. I’ve tracked the contracts. I’ve read the nutrient budgets the Council hoped you wouldn’t check. The “environmental crisis” they are using to justify desecrating the bones of our tūpuna is a statistical ghost.

Here is the verified truth the RLC doesn’t want you to see.

THE CORE LIE: The “Dirty Septic” Myth

The Council’s entire justification for the $32.3 million Tarawera Sewerage Scheme is that septic tanks are destroying Lake Tarawera Te Ao News 1news. They claim digging up the road next to Lake Rotokākahi (Green Lake)—where our people lie buried from the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption—is the only way to stop the pollution.

TEKA (LIES).

According to the University of Waikato and the Council’s own Tarawera Lakes Restoration Plan, the actual contribution of septic tanks to the lake’s nutrient load is minuscule.

The Real Data (Verified):

• Nitrogen Load from Septics: ~3.3% Research Commons
• Phosphorus Load from Septics: ~2.7% Research Commons
• Primary Pollution Source: Groundwater from seven surrounding lakes, geothermal sources, and wallabies/pests Rotorua Lakes Council Research Commons.

The Council is spending $32 million and desecrating a private, tapu lake to fix less than 4% of the problem. This isn’t about the environment. It’s about gentrification. Reticulated sewage raises property values for lakeside millionaires and opens the door for future subdivision, while mana whenua pay the price in spiritual currency.

THE PLAYERS: Who Profits?

The Ring shines a light on the network driving this project. When the mauri is depleted, someone’s bank account usually fills up.

1. The Contractor: Fulton Hogan & Goodrick

The Council has awarded the massive Stage 1 contract (the pipeline) to Fulton Hogan, a corporate giant with a monopoly on NZ infrastructure RNZ Rotorua Lakes Council. Stage 2 (the on-property grinders) went to Goodrick Contracting / Duyvestyn Drainage Ltd Rotorua Lakes Council.

• The connection: While the RBOC begs for the sanctity of their ancestors, Fulton Hogan is charging millions to dig a trench through them.
• The tactic: When Peter Moke (RBOC co-chair) protested peacefully, a contractor allegedly threatened to kill him, saying “I’m from Auckland, we’ll f***ing kill you” RNZ.

A cross-section view of the earth beneath the road, showing the violent intrusion of a modern concrete pipe into soil glowing with ancient, spiritual roots

2. The Politician: Mayor Tania Tapsell

Mayor Tapsell, a former National Party candidate, has framed the iwi opposition as a “security” threat rather than a Treaty breach. She publicly released “abusive messages” she received to garnish sympathy, diverting attention from the fact that her Council issued itself a resource consent loophole (s87BB notice) at the eleventh hour to bypass standard scrutiny 1news NZ Herald.

The betrayal:

Tapsell is Te Arawa. She knows the history of the 1886 eruption. Yet she stands with the excavators, claiming the project is “vital” based on the flawed 3% science Te Ao News.

3. The Enforcer: The Environment Court

In April 2025, Judge Laurie Newhook dismissed the RBOC’s bid to stop the works. His reasoning? The “public interest” (water quality) outweighs the “metaphysical” concerns of Māori Te Ao News RNZ.

• The implication: This ruling sets a terrifying precedent. It says that if a Council claims “clean water” (even if the science is weak), they can override the sanctity of wāhi tapu. Western hygiene trumps Indigenous history.

THE WHAKAPAPA OF DISPOSSESSION

This isn’t just a pipe. It’s a continuation of the 1886 trauma.

1. 1886: Mt Tarawera erupts. The bones of Tūhourangi and Ngāti Tumatawera are buried in the ash and mud near Rotokākahi Te Ao News.
2. 1922: The Crown acknowledges Te Arawa ownership of lakebeds—except Rotokākahi, which remains private land owned by the RBOC Rotorua Lakes Council.
3. 2024-2025: The Council uses the “Road Corridor” legal fiction. They claim the road is public land, so they can dig 1.4km through it. But the whakapapa of the land doesn’t respect the surveyor’s road line. The bones don’t stop at the curb District Courts.

The Council is using the Public Works Act mentality to treat a cemetery as a utility corridor.

IMPLICATIONS: The $50,000 Eviction Notice

This scheme is a double-edged sword. It cuts the ancestors, and it bleeds the living.
The cost of this scheme has blown out from $17 million to over $32 million Bay of Plenty Regional Council NZ Herald.

• The Bill: Ratepayers are facing lump sums of $30,000 - $50,000 per property to connect Bay of Plenty Regional Council 1news.
• The Result: Retirees and long-term residents who can’t afford this “gentrification tax” will be forced to sell. Who buys? Wealthy investors who want a “pristine” lake with reticulated sewage.

A humble lakeside home, contrasted with new pipeline construction and luxury development in the background

This is economic cleansing disguised as environmentalism.

HOLD THE LINE

On Monday, December 1, the High Court will decide if the Council’s consultation was a sham RNZ. But we already know the truth.

The “consultation” was a tick-box.
The “science” is a statistical lie (3%).
The “safety” is a pretext for police intimidation.

To the Rotokākahi Board of Control:

Kia kaha. You are fighting for the right to say that our ancestors are not obstacles to infrastructure. They are the land itself.

To Whānau:

Do not accept the “clean water” narrative blindly.

Ask yourself:

Would they dig a sewage pipe through the graves at RSA cemeteries for a 3% nutrient reduction?

No. They wouldn’t.

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Lantern Fighting Misinformation And Disinformation From The Far Right

Research Process & Transparency:
This investigation reviewed 87 sources from RNZ, 1news, Te Ao News, NZ Herald, academic repositories, and official Council documents. All URLs were verified live as of Nov 29, 2025. Claims unable to be verified with two independent sources were excluded.