Cops pull rank at Te Kohanga

Surfers finally got access to Te Kohanga on Wednesday, after police told Takiwa o Ahipara that it could not stop them. Picture / Supplied

The majority of surfers reportedly accepted with good grace that Takiwa o Ahipara had closed the road to Te Kohanga (Shipwreck Bay) until the Covid-19 lockdown is reduced to level 2, but some did not. On Wednesday police intervened on their behalf.

Two surfers, understood by the Northland Age to be foreigners holidaying at Ahipara when lockdown began, brought the issue to a head, and were soon joined on the water by more than a dozen others.

The gate at the top of the road to Te Kohanga remained locked, and Takiwa o Ahipara spokesman Patau Tepania said he was not expecting any further confrontation, given that the surf had eased significantly, but on Wednesday police permitted the surfers to move along the shoreline, while others paddled to the spot where the break was at its best.

Takiwa o Ahipara had previously denied access via the foreshore, and the police intervention left Mr Tepania bemused and frustrated.

At Ngātaki, an iwi-led checkpoint had closed State Highway 1, and for a time had prohibited vehicle access to Rarawa Beach, with no police action (Ngātaki checkpoint has police blessing, May 5), yet the blocking of access to Te Kohanga had been overruled.

Police Far North area commander Inspector Riki Whiu told the Northland Age that no one had wanted "every man and his rod" to turn up at Rarawa.

"What's the difference?" Mr Tepania asked. "This [closing the road] isn't about power, it's about looking after our whānau, and it's only until we go back to level 2."

The local surfing club had accepted the closure (although at least one member surfed on Wednesday), but the two visitors who had called police had been denied access to the water every day.

"We are always being asked to justify our position, and we're sick of it," he said. "If people are not prepared to respect what we are doing, and our right to do it, there are always going to be issues.

"These are tough times, and everyone is under stress, but we still need to show respect, especially in small communities. We told the police we had closed the road for a good reason. We are the kaitiaki, but we always seem to be swimming against the ride, and it's frustrating," he said.

"Our ancestors passed this land on to us, and we have always made it clear that everyone in the community is welcome here, but it is a privilege, not a right. Some people just don't get it."

Wednesday's confrontation could have been much worse.

"No one got pushed around. That's the main thing." Senior Sergeant Russell Richards said officers had not demanded the road be opened, but had allowed surfers to walk or paddle to where they wanted to go.

"Our priority was to keep the peace and make sure everyone was safe," he said. "No one was doing anything wrong."