The second hikoi in five months protesting against the Government's planned Foreshore and Seabed Bill arrived in Whangarei yesterday with chants about Prime Minister Helen clark and the waving of Maori sovereignty flags.
About 100 people marched or drove through Whangarei yesterday on their way to Auckland for tomorrow's Queen St march against the bill.
This is the second hikoi held to protest against the bill after thousands of protesters marched and bused from Cape Reinga to Wellington in late April/early May.
The Northern Advocate saw the protesters walking along Kamo Rd at around 10.30am yesterday, holding a sign proclaiming "Maori seabed for shore!" and creating a long line of traffic behind them.
The group, mainly Maori and under 35, chanted:
"One, two, three, four: Maori own the foreshore.
"Five, six, seven, eight: Helen Clark is a fake."
The hikoi, organised by Far North Maori rights campaigner Hone Harawira, who also organised the last hikoi, started at Cape Reinga on Monday in response to Rotorua-based iwi Te Arawa organising a hikoi against the bill on Auckland's Queen St tomorrow.
Mike Smith, organiser of the Whangarei leg of the hikoi, said the march represented a "grass roots" movement from people still angry the Government was not listening to their demands over the bill, that proposes placing the foreshore and seabed into Crown ownership.
Some Maori are angry about the bill because it pre-empts any attempt by them to prove their case for title over parts of the foreshore and seabed. The legislation comes after a Court of Appeal ruling opened the door to such claims last year.
Asked if the hikoi would be less effective than the first one because it was held not that long ago, Mr Smith said it was clear the last hikoi had placed some pressure on the Government to review the bill and he believed another one might just get the Government to change the bill.
"It's a peace march and it's a good opportunity for people to enter into serious negotiations with the Government before things get any more difficult," Mr Smith said.
Protesters in the hikoi were to have stayed at the Puatahi Marae near the Kaipara Harbour last night.
Hikoi heads south in seabed protest
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