A guardian of a sacred lake near Rotorua alleges a crewman working on a nearby sewerage scheme threatened to kill him.

It follows Rotorua Lakes Council applying last month to the Rotorua District Court for an injunction to stop “interference” with the construction of the $29 million Tarawera Wastewater Reticulation Scheme.

Lake Rotokākahi is in the Tūhourangi and Ngāti Tumatawera rohe and is next to the roading corridor the pipeline follows.

The tapu (sacred) lake is privately owned by iwi and the general public is not permitted to swim or use boats on it. It is overseen by the Lake Rotokākahi Board of Control.

Board co-chairman Peter Moke organised a protest in January as the group held concerns the pipeline could have environmental impacts on the lake.

The council said work was paused in January after “protest obstruction, interference with the work site and safety concerns raised by the contractor”.

Lake Rotokākahi Board of Control co-chairman Peter Moke at the edge of the lake. Photo / Andrew Warner.

Moke said its protest was peaceful and no one in its group was responsible for the incident that stopped the works.

The group worried an injunction would impact on its ability to protest without repercussions. The council said it did not seek to stop people from expressing their views as long as this did not impact the council’s ability to undertake its legitimate works safely.

Last Tuesday, Moke said he went to fish at the lake with his uncle and cousin and came across a sign within a metre of its edge notifying people of the injunction application.

Moke told Local Democracy Reporting he approached a nearby Fulton Hogan worker to ask him to move the sign to where the roadworks were.

He said the worker allegedly went from “0 to 100″ in his response: “Touch that sign and I’ll smash you”.

Moke said the worker was a big man, was “towering” over him, and had a staple gun in his hand - “acting like it was a knuckle duster.”

Moke claimed the man said, “I’m from Auckland, we’ll f***ing kill you.”

He said the situation de-escalated when he said he would go and get his phone and video the worker, and a foreman came over.

Moke said he called the police to make an incident report the next day.

“I have never been abused at my own lake in my life,” he said.

“You’re gonna take that tapu home with you,” he said he told the worker.

A police spokeswoman said it was aware of an “alleged heated discussion” regarding a sign.

“Police are making inquiries and will speak with those involved.”

A Fulton Hogan spokeswoman said it was working with the council on the alleged matter and declined to comment.

The council’s infrastructure and environment group manager Stavros Michael said Fulton Hogan told it of the alleged incident and would keep it informed.

“We have no comment on what allegedly occurred as we were not present at the time and the matter is being dealt with by the police.”

There were no reports of other incidents at the work site.

He said the injunction application was the council taking a “pre-emptive step” to ensure nothing happened that could create a safety risk or cause damage to public assets.

Rotorua Lakes Council erected a sign by Lake Rotokākahi, notifying of its injunction application. Photo / Supplied.

Michael said the sign was court-required to be at the work site to notify of the application, was in the roading corridor and not on private land.

Its application advised the work zone was defined as the Tarawera Rd worksite area used by council contractors and subcontractors and “identified by temporary traffic management delineators plus a 1m buffer zone around the perimeter of the worksite”.

The orders would be served by various public postings and by “emailing a copy to the subcommittee of the Lake Rotokākahi Board of Control”.

Michael said the sign was put up on May 28 and had to be replaced several times since then due to being removed or damaged.

Local Democracy Reporting did not see any signs last Friday, including at the lake, the Fulton Hogan base, or where crews were working.

Michael said three signs have been erected and since removed and replaced.

Rotorua Lakes Council’s infrastructure and environment general manager Stavros Michael. Photo / Laura Smith.

“Council is not obliged to go to significant cost or effort to replace the sign if it is the subject of ongoing vandalism.”

He previously said the application did not seek to stop people from expressing their views as long as this did not impact the council’s ability to undertake its legitimate works safely.

“The application does not name anyone or any group.”

A hearing on the application will be held before a decision is made. No dates have been confirmed.

The injunction was expected to add $100,000 in legal costs.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.