A Radio NZ article.
A lengthy review is under way to clarify who does what when Whakaari/White Island erupts, just four years after a memorandum was signed to confirm responsibilities.
Twenty-two people died after the crater exploded in December 2019, while tour groups were visiting.
The island’s owners, the Buttle family, hold the rights to restrict, or prevent access to the volcanic cone, but Whakaari’s distance offshore means it does not come under any city or district council.
Instead, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta is automatically the territorial authority for Whakaari and 10 other offshore islands.
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