Mt Albert tree removal: Protesters labelled 'woke, entitled Pākehā' at hui

Thursday, 28 November 2019

The Tūpuna Maunga Authority held a peaceful hui at Mt Albert / Ōwairaka to hear the woes of the protestors who are concerned about trees being cut down on the mountain. (Video first published in November 2019.)

There were emotional scenes at a hui on a maunga as two sides clashed over the fate of hundreds of exotic trees.

The occupation of Auckland's Ōwairaka/Mt Albert by the group Honour the Maunga, which is protesting a plan to fell 345 exotic trees and replace them with 10,000 natives, has entered its third week.

On Thursday morning, about 200 people gathered near the summit for a hui organised by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority (TMA), which co-governs Ōwairaka/Mt Albert with Auckland Council.

A division among locals was clear as the hui got underway.

After a ceremonial welcome, a microphone was opened up to the audience. Protester Lisa Prager acknowledged the 'pain of colonialism' but said 'the truth is we have this place to share'.

About 200 people - both for and against the tree felling - gathered near the summit of Mt Albert on Thursday.

* Protesters vow to occupy Auckland's Ōwairaka/Mt Albert 24/7 to block removal of trees

* Mt Albert tree removal: Date for hui announced**

Prager argued the trees were a habitat for native wildlife and should be allowed to remain while newly planted natives become established over a few decades.

Protester Lisa Prager was one of the people who spoke at the hui.

It would be an act of 'enormous arrogance' to remove them, she said.

'This broad stroke, this annihilation, this utu on the exotics, this does not serve us as a people.'

Another protester tearfully said she moved to New Zealand from Samoa 50 years ago but 'I feel like I'm mana whenua'.

She told the crowd she was learning te reo Māori, performed a karanga or welcome call, and delivered what she described as a 'message from beyond' to the TMA about the importance of the trees.

Tau Henare from the Independent Māori Statutory Board took exception to the earlier speakers.

'I've never been colonised twice in one day. So to the two women speakers, thank you for that experience,' Henare said.

'What I find personally appalling behaviour is after all the consultation, all the work we've done, I come here this morning and I feel like a f…… criminal.'

Henare slammed what he described as 'woke, entitled, Pākehā people protesting with one solitary police car'.

'These people own this place,' he said, gesturing to the TMA representatives who were present.

'They have the authority, not you. You can speak to as many trees as you like.'

A local arborist also took exception to Prager's comments. 'Lisa, you said you were mana whenua – that is insulting,' he said.

Sixty per cent of the trees in the area were on private properties, he said.

'When your neighbour cuts down a tree, you have nothing to say about it, but when iwi do it, you get triggered.'

Another local resident said there were 'huge amounts of Pākehā' who supported the TMA's plans.

The entrance to Mt Albert remains blocked to contractors ready to fell the trees.