Environmental degradation facilitated by the Crown has been the source of great distress for Ngāti Rangitihi over the years. In the 1910s, the Crown was involved in draining the Rangitaiki swamp, which depleted Ngāti Rangitihi food sources. Most significantly, the Crown promoted legislation in 1954 that enabled the discharge of industrial waste into the Tarawera River and Lake Rotoitipaku, resulting in heavy pollution. I remember working up in that area in the 1990s, and going past the Tarawera River and seeing it running red with pollution from the industrial plants that sat on its edge. 