News and media
$3.8 million funding
Te Araroa's route across the public estate is being pushed ahead by a $3.8 million grant from Government. The money, channeled through the Department of Conservation, is likely to be used mainly for that third of the 2,920 kilometre track that crosses DoC lands.
The four-year allocation totals $461,000 in the 2007-2008 June year, $1,067,000 in the 2008-2009 year, and $1,431,000 in the 2009-2010 year. In the 2010-2011 year the Government has baselined $875,000.
The Prime Minister, Helen Clark, announced the funding at the Makahika Outdoors Centre at Levin Sunday before going off to walk a track presently under construction by Te Araroa Manawatu Trust and DoC's Wellington conservancy as part of the Palmerston North to Levin Te Araroa link.
The funding would give momentum to a "visionary project" she said, and would open up New Zealand's outdoors, not just on the outback tramping tracks, but on easily walkable sections between towns and settlements.
"The whole vision of Te Araroa is to encourage people to use our fantastic outdoors."
Te Araroa CEO Geoff Chapple said that since beginning construction of the trail in 1999, the trust and its regional trusts had directly raised over $3 million, including a regular contribution from the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs, and a generous grant by the ASB Community Trust. Aside from such direct fund-raising, Te Araroa Trust had influenced spending in favour of the trail by a large number of local and regional authorities, and outside agencies like the New Zealand Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. That "influence" spending totalled a further $3.8 million.
"Now the Government has also committed substantial funds, and we're delighted," said Te Araroa CEO Geoff Chapple. "The money goes to the Department of Conservation mainly for that third of the trail that crosses the public estate - either existing tracks that need to be properly signed with the Te Araroa symbol, or on tracks that need to be improved, or on new tracks. Previously we were funding trail construction across DoC estate. That was hard, and we can concentrate now on what we do best - persuading councils to advance their section of Te Araroa's route across their territories, negotiating critical access across private land, and organising our wonderful volunteers to work on those sections where other agencies might be dragging the chain."
