This article was first published by RNZ
A dawn karakia at Te Rerenga Wairua has launched a national hīkoi opposing the Treaty Principles bill and government policy impacting Māori.
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti participants gathered for a dawn blessing on Monday morning ahead of a nine-day journey to Wellington, with thousands expected to join the convoy as it makes its way across the country.
The hīkoi convoy will travel through Northland and is expected to make its first stop in Kaitaia at 10am Monday.
Participants will continue on to Moerewa, then Kawakawa, before arriving in Whangārei which will mark the first leg of the journey.
Minister of Police Mark Mitchell told Morning Report they were not expecting any problems, and a major operations centre had been set up.
The hīkoi in the South Island
A number of people gathered at Bluff, in the Deep South at dawn this morning.
Those in the south joining the hīkoi to Te Whanganui A Tara will leave in about a week.
Te Pati Maori MP Takuta Ferris told Morning Report people gathered at Sterling Point and it was a “great morning”.
They had karakia followed by kai, and there would be a number of “protest activations” in Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch this week.
These would giving people “the time and space to show support... this is about standing up for our rights”.
There had been a “quite brutal assault on te iwi Māori” but other New Zealanders' rights were also being “trampled on”, he says.
‘Beautiful’ atmosphere at dawn ceremony - hīkoi organiser
Toitu te Tiriti organiser Eru Kapa-Kingi spoke to Morning Report‘s Charlotte Cook from the dawn ceremony at Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga), and said the atmosphere there was “beautiful”.
“I felt the magic this morning with our karakia Māori, felt our tupuna, our ancestors, standing with us, supporting us, so feeling really uplifted through our proceedings this morning.”
The kaupapa (purpose) of the hīkoi wasn’t just about the Treaty Principles bill, and Kapa-Kingi said.
“This is called te hīkoi mo te Tiriti - which is the march for te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“This is us as tangata whenua, standing in our power, and our mana, as the holders, protectors of te Tiriti o Waitangi, but also reminding non-Māori, Pakeha, tauiwi, living in Aotearoa that they are beneficiaries of that very agreement as well."
Police Minister Mark Mitchell on the hīkoi
Earlier, Minister of Police Mark Mitchell told Morning Report police were well-prepared for the protest march, had been working “very well” with organisers and were not expecting any problems.
“One of the great things about our democracy in our country is that people have got the right to be able to come out and engage in peaceful protest.”
Police set up major ops centre to to monitor hīkoi
Police have set up a major operations centre to monitor the national hīkoi opposing the Treaty Principles bill.
Superintendent Kelly Ryan told Morning Report‘s Ingrid Hipkiss the ops centre will provide oversight for hīkoi events throughout Aotearoa, as well as communications and logistical support.
She did not give exact numbers of how many police are being deployed, but said a number were assigned across each police district, with others on standby, “so we can scale up or scale back as required”.
Police were planning for 10,000-25,000 people in the march, and had been working with iwi leads for the hikoi for a number of weeks, she said.
They had a commitment from those leaders for a peaceful hikoi, “and we’re planning for that”, she said.
Police are “very agile” and are well versed at dealing with protests, “so we can deal with any contingency”, she says.
Morning Report host Ingrid Hipkiss asked if their planning had included other groups getting involved, with other motivations, such as Gaza protest groups or gangs. Ryan said this was quite possible, but police planned for those things.
Hipkiss asked if police was expecting traffic disruption.
“Our message to the public is there will be some likely disruption as it moves through centres but we’re planning to safely facilitate them through so there will be minimal disruption to the public.”
