March 12, 2019
Ihumātao development step too far
Supporters of an occupation at Ihumātao are in Wellington today to march on Parliament to demand the government take action to stop development of the land and return it to mana whenua.
Qiane Matata Sipu says Save Our Unique Landscape is hoping for a high level ministerial welcome, given the Government’s rhetoric about listening to Māori.
She says the fact the land was farmed for 150 years and then sold to Fletcher Building can’t hide the fact it was lived on for 800 years before it was confiscated in 1863.
As a green open space that is vital for the health and welfare of the neighbouring village.
"All the other construction that happens around the airport or the factories that are going up, the desecration to our awa, to our moana, to our whenua, all of those things are happening to us at Ihumātao. This last piece of land was really the final straw. The current generation are saying kao, no more now, that's enough. We need that wrong to be made right," Matata Sipu says.
The SOUL march for Ihumātao leaves from Te Wharewaka on Wellington’s waterfront at noon.
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