Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

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 / Northland Age

Airport protesters hoping for a hui

Northland Age
26 Oct, 2015 07:51 PM3 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

HIKOI: Protesters making their way to Kaitaia airport for an occupation that would end in six arrests. PICTURE/EDWARD ROONEY

HIKOI: Protesters making their way to Kaitaia airport for an occupation that would end in six arrests. PICTURE/EDWARD ROONEY

Five of the six people charged with wilful trespass after the occupation of Kaitaia airport on September 9 formally entered not guilty pleas when they appeared before Judge Greg Davis in the Kaitaia District Court last week.

Eva Bridget Crockenberg, Anthony Gregory Housham, Reti Boynton, Barney Popata and Robin Popata were remanded, bail to continue, to December 16 for a case review hearing. Their attendance was excuse, but counsel Annette Sykes said they would wish to be there.

A warrant to arrest was issued when the sixth defendant, Selwyn James Clarke, again failed to appear.

Ms Sykes told the court that she had understood that a hui with the prosecution was to have taken place earlier in the week, in a bid to resolve the issues without court proceedings. Her clients wanted that discussion, but it had not taken place.

Judge Davis said the hui had been suggested by the police prosecutor at the defendants' previous appearance, but last week's prosecutor, Sergeant Peter Wackrow, said the district prosecutions manager had no interest in taking that option. Nor would diversion be considered.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If there is no appetite for a hui then all we can do is proceed down the traditional pathway," Judge Davis said.

Ms Sykes replied that the court had an opportunity to avoid the expense of a trial (that she expected to require three weeks). It was not disputed, she added, that the government did not own the airport land but held it in a constructive trust on behalf of people including the defendants.

"Once we unpick the fundamental issue of who owns the land, the actions my clients took will be defined accordingly," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She had not abandoned hope of entering into discussion with the prosecution, and wanted Ngati Kahu to be involved in that discussion.

"I encourage everyone to have meaningful discussions, but if we can't make these discussions work then we will have to go down the Criminal Procedures Act path," Judge Davis replied.

Ms Sykes also told the court that, in the event of the charges going to trial, she intended to defend one of her clients as a test case. The other defendants would accept the outcome of that process,

Meanwhile Judge Davis thanked the defendants for keeping their promise, made at their previous appearance, not to enter the airport grounds unless they were catching or disembarking from a flight. All agreed to continue abiding by that promise until December 16.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

Kāinga Ora scraps 450 new Northland houses, deepening shortage

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Northland Age

School lunch programme saves $130m, student satisfaction rises, Govt says

10 Jul 02:00 AM
Northland Age

Changing times: Kiwibank's new model prompts mixed reactions

10 Jul 02:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

Kāinga Ora scraps 450 new Northland houses, deepening shortage

Kāinga Ora scraps 450 new Northland houses, deepening shortage

11 Jul 05:00 PM

Kāinga Ora halts 40 housing projects in Northland amid $12.3b debt

School lunch programme saves $130m, student satisfaction rises, Govt says

School lunch programme saves $130m, student satisfaction rises, Govt says

10 Jul 02:00 AM
Changing times: Kiwibank's new model prompts mixed reactions

Changing times: Kiwibank's new model prompts mixed reactions

10 Jul 02:00 AM
Far North approves 10.95% rates rise, slightly lower than forecast

Far North approves 10.95% rates rise, slightly lower than forecast

09 Jul 06:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

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
  • The Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • 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
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP