By PHILIP ENGLISH
A group of 60 Maori yesterday occupied the derelict Meremere power station over land and environmental grievances.
The occupiers, members of the local Tainui subtribe Ngati Naho, forced their way in to the old power station with bolt cutters and have locked themselves into the sprawling site.
Ngati Naho elders and young children were among the occupiers. So too were a group of trained militia, said a leader, Robert Tukiri.
"We are armed. We have a young group of about 30 men here who have been trained in security and unarmed combat."
Mr Tukiri would not say if he meant the men were armed with guns but, asked if the presence of a trained militia might come as a shock to New Zealanders, he replied: "Where have you been for the last 160 years? Have you forgotten Fiji?"
There was no sign of any militia group. No weapons, only walking sticks, were visible inside the crumbling complex.
The official spokesman for the occupiers Gerrard Otimi said an armed militia was not needed at the protest.
Mr Tukiri said money had been saved to pay for a long occupation and the power station was easy to defend.
Ngati Naho claim to have been left out of consultation over the future use of the power station land leased from Tainui by Genesis Power.
The aim of the hapu is the return of the land to its people, but environmental problems associated with the site and its impact on the Waikato River are also concerns.
Ngati Naho believe internationally significant wetlands nearby have been polluted by coal ash and that thousands of tonnes of asbestos have been dumped on the site, contaminating waterways.
Sewage from the Meremere township is also pumped directly into the Waikato River.
Another Ngati Naho grievance is that Genesis Power did not consider a tender from the hapu for the dismantling of the plant.
Soon after the occupation began, Genesis representative Bruce Cole arrived and spoke to the occupiers.
The chief executive of the company, Murray Jackson, said the occupiers had been asked to leave.
He said the Ngati Naho ownership claim was not correct.
"We are in no position to relinquish ownership of the land."
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