Ihumātao: Protesters march through thunderstorm to deliver petition to Jacinda Ardern's office

Thursday, 22 August 2019

Representatives for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have received a petition that was carried through rain, thunder and hail.

A hikoi delivered the petition, which called on Ardern to Ihumātao, to her electorate office on Thursday afternoon.

The hikoi was welcomed by a group of supporters outside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's electoral office on Thursday afternoon.

The 20 kilometre route took them from Auckland's Māngere to Mt Albert, with buses stationed along the way for those not intending to walk for the duration.

At 8am, about 200 people left the whenua, singing and waving flags.

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Protesters marched through torrential rain on their way to Jacinda Ardern's Mt Albert electorate office.

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SOUL leader Pania Newton was at the head of the march with a megaphone.

More than 200 protesters left Ihumātao on Thursday morning.

'We are walking to invite Jacinda Ardern to our whenua, so she can experience the same feelings we experience every day,' Newton said.

'She has a responsibility to come here.'

Newton lead the hikoi with a megaphone in hand.

A group of Māori wardens stayed behind to watch the protest village while the hikoi was underway.

By 12.30pm, more than 10 millimetres of rain had fallen in Auckland since the hikoi began.

A number of protesters carried signs as they marched.

Protesters at Ihumātao are opposing a housing development by Fletcher Building.

The protesters chanted and cheered as they took cover under trees and had hot soup.

The hikoi arrived in Mt Albert shortly before 3pm and the march was welcomed with a haka and karakia in the middle of New North Rd outside Ardern's electorate office.

While the prime minister herself was not at her electorate office, the petition was received by a small group of her representatives.

As the petition was carried inside, the protesters sang – appearing to be in good spirits despite the almost 20km walk.

The protesters are trying to stop a Fletcher Building housing development at a disputed site near Auckland Airport.

Fletcher bought the land off private owners the Wallace family in 2016.

Local iwi Te Kawerau a Maki reached an agreement with Fletcher that would see houses given to local Māori in a shared equity scheme, but protesters say that iwi has no mandate over the land.

Colonial troops forced Māori from the land during the 19th century Waikato Invasion: a campaign to stamp out the Māori King movement and clear lands for European settlement.