Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Covid-19 Delta outbreak: Police 'frustrated' and 'disappointed' with Hīkoi protesters

NZ Herald
27 Oct, 2021 07:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The self-proclaimed Sovereign Hīkoi of Truth (SHOT) was stopped by police at Mercer, south of Auckland, thwarting their attempt to breach Auckland's border restrictions. Video / Mike Scott / Michael Craig

Police say they are "frustrated" with the amount of time and resources being used to resolve the hīkoi camped at Auckland's southern border.

A strong police contingent continues to monitor members of the Sovereign Hīkoi of Truth (Shot) movement at the Mercer checkpoint after a police line had to move protesters off the highway early this morning.

"The protesters' actions today have caused disruption and delays for those travelling through the checkpoint for legitimate reasons," a police spokesperson said.

Sovereign Hikoi Of Truth ( SHOT ) at Mercer as they are held up by police. Photo / Mike Scott
Sovereign Hikoi Of Truth ( SHOT ) at Mercer as they are held up by police. Photo / Mike Scott

"We are frustrated that significant time and resources are being committed to resolve this situation and we are very disappointed by the actions of this group of protesters who continue to put the wider community and our staff at risk."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It is now understood that protesters are hunkering down at Mercer and food is being distributed to them.

Posts to social media claim the protesters can no longer access internet because of "cell jammers".

Just after midday, a vehicle at the northern checkpoint at Te Hana blocked SH1 northbound.

A woman was arrested and warned for obstruction. The vehicle was removed from the road.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

No protesters are at the northern checkpoint.

The group stuck at the southern border claim to be heading to Waitangi, but local Māori leaders have told them they are not welcome there.

Police at the level 3 boundary south of Auckland stopping protests heading to Waitangi. Photo / Mike Scott
Police at the level 3 boundary south of Auckland stopping protests heading to Waitangi. Photo / Mike Scott

Police at the southern checkpoint have been engaging with protesters, including the occupants of two vehicles who deliberately parked to obstruct traffic on SH1.

The occupants refused to move the vehicles, claiming to have an exemption to travel through the checkpoint. Two occupants in one vehicle had been granted an exemption for permitted travel.

The bus moved off the highway late this afternoon.

Police are still considering possible enforcement action.

The convoy of around 50 vehicles carrying about 100 people arrived at the southern checkpoint late last night.

This evening, Te Tai Tokerau Border Control founder Hone Harawira slammed the hīkoi, calling it the "white man's march to nowhere".

He told Newstalk ZB the protesters were taking He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni celebrations and turning it into an "anti-government march".

"They wanted to use our independence celebrations as a way of being able to just bust through the borders and say 'we are free, we are free'."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand) was signed in Waitangi on October 28, 1835, by 34 northern chiefs. Commemorations in normal years draw large numbers of people to the campground next to Te Tii Marae.

Harawira described the group as ''Pākehā anti-vaxxers'' trying to take over He Whakaputanga commemorations.

Hone Harawira has hit back at the Sovereign Hikoi Of Truth. Photo / Tania Whyte
Hone Harawira has hit back at the Sovereign Hikoi Of Truth. Photo / Tania Whyte

Ngāpuhi chairman Wane Wharerau said the rūnanga also opposed the hīkoi because a group opposing vaccinations was "dangerous" for whānau in Te Tai Tokerau.

Wharerau said the hīkoi diverted attention from a genuine commemoration of a covenant in the history of Ngāpuhi. More than 100 years ago Te Tai Tokerau lost thousands of whānau to the Spanish flu and now it was facing a similar pandemic, but this time a vaccine was available to help fight it, he said.

He said people would be welcome when it was safe.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei deputy chairman Ngarimu Blair said as the tangata whenua of central Auckland it would not support such a protest at any time because such actions put at risk what the people of Auckland had endured and worked so hard for over successive lockdowns.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Waitangi

Meanwhile, around 500 people gathered for a pōwhiri at Te Tii o Waitangi Marae in the name of "freedom".

The crowd gathered at Tii Marae at midday on Wednesday. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The crowd gathered at Tii Marae at midday on Wednesday. Photo / Michael Cunningham

More than 250 vehicles set off from Whangārei's Kensington Park at 9.30am today to throw their weight behind the hīkoi's stand against Government mandates.

Around 12 people were prevented from crossing into Tai Tokerau at the Te Hana checkpoint on State Highway 1 this morning.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought

Bay of Plenty Times

Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes

Bay of Plenty Times

Revealed: ‘Major milestone’ for education system announced by Government 


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought
Bay of Plenty Times

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought

Whakarewarewa beat Greerton Marist 25-17 to reach the Baywide final.

14 Jul 05:17 AM
Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes
Bay of Plenty Times

Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes

14 Jul 04:28 AM
Revealed: ‘Major milestone’ for education system announced by Government 
Bay of Plenty Times

Revealed: ‘Major milestone’ for education system announced by Government 

14 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP