More than 200 people marched through Kaikohe on Thursday in a show of opposition to the government recognising Tuhoronuku as the mandated authority to negotiate settlement of Ngapuhi's Treaty claims, the protesters saying that organisation did not have hapu support.
The hikoi was originally intended to make its way to Te Kotahitanga Marae, on the western outskirts of Kaikohe, where Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples was due to take part in a consultation hui on the draft Maori language strategy. Dr Sharples' flight was delayed by fog in Wellington, however, so the protesters headed for Te Runanga-a-Iwi o Ngapuhi's headquarters on Mangakahia Road and the nearby Far North District Council offices.
The protest was prompted by the government's announcement that it would begin direct negotiations with Tuhoronuku, a committee set up by the runanga to settle the grievances of New Zealand's biggest tribe. Prime Minister John Key had made it clear at Waitangi that the government was keen to settle with Ngapuhi by the end of the year.
However, hapu groups such as Te Kotahitanga o nga Hapu Ngapuhi say Tuhoronuku has no mandate to negotiate on the tribe's behalf. Te Kotahitanga also wants the Crown and iwi to work through the full Waitangi Tribunal process before talking money.
The hikoi was to have been silent, as a symbol of "the unheard voices of Ngapuhi", but the protesters sang and chanted as they made their way down Broadway. The march was peaceful, with placards bearing slogans such as 'Mana not money' and 'Hapu say no to Crown mandate', while Kawakawa man Joey Rapana wore a cloak and a wreath of leaves on his head, a traditional symbol of mourning. He said hapu wanted the right to speak for themselves.
One of the organisers, Bridgette Henare, said the government had asked Ngapuhi to take part in a consultation process to decide who would hold the mandate for Treaty settlement negotiations. Iwi members had done so, 63 per cent of them saying they opposed Tuhoronuku starting direct negotiations, but the Crown had proceeded regardless.
If the government thought a fast-track settlement would win Ngapuhi votes in the upcoming election it was sorely mistaken, she said, adding that the hikoi was just the start of a long battle.
"We no longer fight with musket and taiaha. We will fight this with pen and paper," she said.
Te Kotahitanga co-chairman Rudy Taylor said the Hokianga Hapu Whanau Collective, which he also chairs, was unanimously opposed to Tuhoronuku negotiating Ngapuhi claims in the Hokianga. A meeting at Whirinaki had resolved to ask the Waitangi Tribunal and the courts for an urgent inquiry into the way in which the Crown facilitated the establishment of Tuhoronuku to "suppress the voices of the hapu of Ngapuhi".
Even the Crown had recognised deficiencies in the mandate process, granting the mandate subject to additional requirements and conditions.
"The fact that the Crown still requires amendments to the deed of mandate is a clear indication there are significant matters that need to be attended to. Hokianga believe these matters should have been finalised well before any Crown recognition of authority," Mr Taylor said.