December 14, 2021
Pā protest in the rain
Security moved in early this morning and sealed off part of Sir Dove Meyer Robinson Park in Parnell in preparation for work starting on the controversial Erebus Memorial.
The site has been occupied by a group led by Rangimarie Dame Naida Glavish, who says it’s the site of the ancestral pā Mataharehare and subject to a rāhui.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, which is recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage as having mana whenua over the area, says the site is actually Taurarua, and it supports construction of the memorial to those killed in the crash of the Air New Zealand flight in Antarctica 42 years ago.
Dame Naida blames Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and ministry head Bernadette Cavanagh for the project going ahead.
“While they sit in their cozy house in Wellington it’s pouring with rain up here and these security guys are standing in the rain. Well so are we. It’s a shocking site and this is a non-notifiable project so they can sneak in here at 3 o’clock in the morning and put their fence up,” she says.
Dame Naida says the fence has gone up while protesters are still waiting for a report from the Ombudsman on the process to choose the site and get the consents.