NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

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 / Kahu

Council calls for urgent meeting over 'grave' situation at Ihumātao housing development site

NZ Herald
25 Jul, 2019 03:04 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

Focus Live: Green Party MPs to visit Ihumātao
Focus Live: Green Party MPs to visit Ihumātao
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
    • captions off, selected

      This is a modal window.

      Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

      Text
      Text Background
      Caption Area Background
      Font Size
      Text Edge Style
      Font Family

      End of dialog window.

      This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

      Nelson-Tasman state of emergency, HIV diagnoses in babies | NZ Herald News Update, Sunday 13 July

      UP NEXT:

      Autoplay in
      4
      Disable Autoplay
      Cancel Video
      Focus Live: Ihumātao media conference
      NOW PLAYING • Focus Live: Green Party MPs to visit Ihumātao
      Focus Live: Green Party MPs to visit Ihumātao

      Auckland Council is calling for a meeting with all parties involved with the disputed lands at Ihumātao to avoid "another Bastion Point".

      The land in the south Auckland suburb of Māngere is owned by Fletcher Building and is slated for development of 480 houses, with the agreement of local iwi.

      But a group called SOUL - Save Our Unique Landscape - has been occupying the historic site for several years, saying it should be made a public space.

      Some of the protesters - or protectors, as they call themselves - are mana whenua, including SOUL leader Pania Newton. She says the 34ha of land near the sacred Ōtuataua Stonefields Reserve was unjustly confiscated from mana whenua in 1863.

      But elders from local mana whenua Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Ākitai Waiohua, and Tainui have sided with Fletcher in the dispute and asked protesters to leave.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      READ MORE
      • The tragedy of Ihumātao
      • Fires that shaped Auckland hapū history: Bastion Point, 40 years on
      • Protesters at Ihumātao served eviction notices
      • Ihumātao development site protest: Occupiers and police standing ground at Auckland site

      On Tuesday police evicted the protesters, leading to hundreds more people descending on the site. The vast majority have acted peacefully but six people have been arrested for what police called "reckless and dangerous" behaviour.

      There are now scores of police at the scene, leading to fears the situation could become a "second Bastion Point".

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      Police said they had remained there over Wednesday night "to allow Fletcher Building contractors to go about their lawful business and to prevent any breaches of the peace".

      "Police respect the public's right to protest and we want to acknowledge the peaceful behaviour of the vast majority of protesters on site," they said in a statement.

      Footage from this morning posted online appears to show police shoving protesters standing in their way.

      Councillor Cathy Casey raised an extraordinary item in the council's Governing Body meeting today calling for Mayor Phil Goff to hold a meeting between all parties - including iwi claiming mana whenua status, the council, the Māngere-Otahuhu local board, the Crown and anyone else affected - to "explore all partnering opportunities that will bring an end to this lengthy dispute".

      Discover more

      New Zealand

      Protesters at Ihumātao served eviction notices

      22 Jul 11:24 PM
      New Zealand

      Fight for Ihumātao: Three people arrested at historic Auckland site

      23 Jul 06:25 AM
      New Zealand

      Ihumātao protest: Dogs pepper-sprayed as more people arrested

      24 Jul 12:56 AM
      New Zealand

      Why John Banks is out of Auckland's mayoral race

      25 Jul 11:41 PM

      She hoped the move would avert "a situation that could escalate as Bastion Point did".

      The item was passed unanimously and will be confirmed at the next meeting in August.

      But Councillor Penny Hulse cautioned councillors to respect the Treaty settlement process the local iwi, Te Kawerau ā Maki, had gone through.

      She also warned the council against taking a "colonial and vaguely patronising approach to sort of step in and calm the waters" when the various groups involved had been dealing with the issue for decades.

      Councillor Mike Lee called the situation "a weeping sore which has been allowed to fester for way too long" between the community and Fletcher.

      "It has caused major problems within the local marae to the stage now and with the law to the stage that people are being arrested, so strongly do they feel about this."

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      The council could not demand that Māori elders and spokespeople come to a meeting, she said.

      On Wednesday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Government would not intervene in the dispute, but it was "falling on the side of local iwi and their position".

      "They are not the ones leading the protest here, so if we come in over the top it really would be undermining the local iwi in this case."

      Save

        Share this article

      Latest from New Zealand

      New Zealand

      Napier City Rovers face crucial match in bid for top-tier football

      New Zealand

      Why Aucklanders shouldn’t lose sleep despite living in a volcanic zone

      Watch
      Premium
      OpinionSimon Wilson

      Simon Wilson: Slum designs or no new social housing at all?


      Sponsored

      Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      Recommended for you

      Napier City Rovers face crucial match in bid for top-tier football
      New Zealand

      Napier City Rovers face crucial match in bid for top-tier football

      Grieving mum speaks of 3-year-old's death for the first time
      New Zealand

      Grieving mum speaks of 3-year-old's death for the first time

      Morning quiz: Who did Nicole Kidman marry after her divorce from Tom Cruise?
      New Zealand

      Morning quiz: Who did Nicole Kidman marry after her divorce from Tom Cruise?

      Forsman looking to cap record season as he looks forward to the next one
      Racing

      Forsman looking to cap record season as he looks forward to the next one

      Endurance ace ready for 'Wimbledon' of trail running
      Sport

      Endurance ace ready for 'Wimbledon' of trail running

      News in brief: 64 sika deer culled in Russell Forest deer eradication project
      Northern Advocate

      News in brief: 64 sika deer culled in Russell Forest deer eradication project



      Latest from New Zealand

      Napier City Rovers face crucial match in bid for top-tier football
      New Zealand

      Napier City Rovers face crucial match in bid for top-tier football

      Two football teams with contrasting ambitions are set to battle at Bluewater Stadium.

      15 Jul 05:00 PM
      Why Aucklanders shouldn’t lose sleep despite living in a volcanic zone
      New Zealand

      Why Aucklanders shouldn’t lose sleep despite living in a volcanic zone

      Watch
      15 Jul 05:00 PM
      Premium
      Premium
      Simon Wilson: Slum designs or no new social housing at all?
      Simon Wilson
      OpinionSimon Wilson

      Simon Wilson: Slum designs or no new social housing at all?

      15 Jul 05:00 PM


      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
      • NZ Herald e-editions
      • Daily puzzles & quizzes
      • Manage your digital subscription
      • Manage your print subscription
      • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
      • Subscribe to Herald Premium
      • Gift a subscription
      • Subscriber FAQs
      • Subscription terms & conditions
      • Promotions and subscriber benefits
      NZME Network
      • The New Zealand Herald
      • The Northland Age
      • The Northern Advocate
      • Waikato Herald
      • Bay of Plenty Times
      • 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
      search by queryly Advanced Search