Parliament battens down the hatches as hīkoi approaches

Tuesday, 19 November 2024

Wellington prepares for major disruptions tomorrow as thousands join the Treaty Bill hikoi. Starting at Porirua, the march will make its way to Parliament, aiming to draw attention to treaty issues.

Parliament has battened down the hatches in preparation for an estimated 50,000 people set to gather today in defiance of the Treaty Principles Bill .

Parliament’s lawn, where the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti will arrive, has long been a stage for protest.

Those protests included the 1975 Land March led by Dame Whina Cooper, the 2004 foreshore and seabed hīkoi, and in more recent times, the 2022 anti-Covid-19 response protest that became an encampment.

Today’s hīkoi, much like the 1975 Land March and the foreshore and seabed hīkoi ‒ which both came from Northland to Parliament’s steps ‒ will arrive having set off in Cape Reinga last Monday.

It will be the biggest test for security since the 2022 Parliament occupation devolved into rioting, an event that led to a noticeable hardening of Parliament’s security.

Barriers were set around Parliament on Monday.

If the 50,000 figure is correct, as estimated by its organiser Eru Kapa-Kingi, it will be one of the largest hīkoi this country has ever seen.

And in anticipation, Parliament doors will be locked to any tours or visitors.

Most entrances around Parliament will be shut and monitored, and only people with approved access will be allowed inside. Speaker Gerry Brownlee has asked that all meetings be held virtually.

Outside, the grounds have been fenced with temporary barricades, and police officers were seen carrying riot shields into the building on Monday afternoon.

Access to the forecourt which looks out onto its lawn will be closed off to all but police and Parliamentary Security. The media, who often cover protests from the forecourt, will be barred.

Police say there were no significant issues as the hīkoi made its way down the North Island.

Parliamentary Services would not comment on specific security arrangements but confirmed it was “working with police to ensure the safety of the precinct and surrounding areas.”

At the National Library, where Te Tiriti o Waitangi is housed, extra staff as well as the permanent security will be present.

Transport in and around Parliament will be restricted, with certain streets including Molesworth Street blocked off.

The hīkoi, which is getting a 6am start from Porirua, is set to arrive at Parliament grounds at 12pm.

By 2.30pm, the nine-day hīkoi is expected to have reached an end and people will head to Waitangi Park for a concert and karakia.

The size of today’s event recalls the anti-Covid-19 protest that arrived on the front lawn of Parliament 33 months ago and was expected to be over by the afternoon.

Instead, Parliament turned into an occupation, and protesters resided there for a month.

The gathering at Parliament today was expected to be peaceful and police said there had been no significant issues from the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti.

Organiser Kapa-Kingi said the hīkoi wasn’t a protest but rather a response - “a moment for all Māori to embrace”.