Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

New authority to manage Auckland's volcanic cones

Updated at 8:17 am on 9 September 2012

A special body is to be set up to oversee some of Auckland's famous volcanic cones, including One Tree Hill.

The Maunga Authority will administer and manage most of the cones and reserves, while the Auckland Council will perform day-to-day maintenance.

Maori and the Crown on Saturday signed a Treaty settlement returning the sites to a group of iwi and hapu.

A trustee of the subtribe Ngati Whatua o Orakei, Ngarimu Blair, says the new authority will be run by equal numbers of council and iwi representatives whose sole purpose will be to look after the mountains.

Mr Blair says they currently get no attention or focus, because managers are too busy looking after sportsfields, libraries and everything else.

Open public access to the cones will not change under the agreement.

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