October 20, 2021
Mataharehare protesters see off construction crew
The head of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage says it is taking a non-confrontational approach to starting work on the Erebus Memorial at the Parnell Rose Gardens.
Contractors turned up at the site yesterday to start work but found protesters blocking the access gates.
The Save Mataharehare group says the attempted work start was a breach of the rāhui placed on the site.
Protest leader Dame Naida Glavish has written to ministry head Bernadette Cavanagh and the Prime Minister asking that the construction be stood down pending the outcome of an investigation by the Ombudsman’s Office into the process of choosing the site, which she says was the pā site Mataharehare.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, which backs the project, says the site is Taurarua.