Listen Now: 
The battle lines have been drawn at Te Tii Marae in Waitangi – and the prime minister is in the middle.
Ngapuhi elders are meeting at the marae today to debate whether to bar John Key if he signs the Trans Pacific Partnership on Thursday as expected.
But Te Kotahitanga o Nga Hapu o Ngapuhi co-chair Rudy Taylor says the only way the government will hear the voice of Ngapuhi is if they are required to front up on their marae.
"I'm opposed to the TPPA but if we stop him from coming on what do we get out of it and what are we meant to tell him if he won't meet with us? Even though the sign off on the fourth is going to be the coming together of those nations that have accepted that the TPPA is a way forward, we want to have our say up here in the north and i think it's good for Ngapuhi to come together to make sure the voice of Ngapuhi is heard," he says.
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
