Update 27 July 2019 For over three years, the SOUL campaign to #protectIhumātao has engaged in non-violent, direct action to raise awareness and build public support. This petition was delivered to Parliament in May and the Select Committee reported back this week: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114507477/ihumtao-eviction-select-committee-urges-parliament-to-note-protesters-concerns The petition was also delivered to Auckland Mayor Phil Goff https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/386696/hikoi-confronts-phil-goff-over-ihumatao-development On Tuesday 23 July more than 70 police turned up unannounced to Ihumaatao to issue eviction notices to mana whenua and destroy the structures that have been set up by kaitiaki (land protectors, guardians). To support the protection of Ihumaatao you can: ❤️ Sign the petition to stay in touch with the campaign and events. ❤️ Send an email to the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister or Auckland Mayor asking to resolve this issue: https://actionstation.org.nz/action/protect-ihumaatao/choose ❤️ Donate for the SOUL campaign: https://donate.actionstation.org.nz/saveihumatao ❤️ Bring yourself, come to the whenua (land). Please be peaceful, no alcohol, take rubbish away with you. ********* The Ihumaatao landscape (of which the land in question, Special Housing Area 62, is a part) is a rare cultural heritage landscape that matters because its stories, relationships, built heritage, ecological values and archaeological sites are critical to our understanding of the histories and futures of our city and country. For mana whenua (local Māori), this place embodies sources of identity and wellbeing as well as family, community and tribal relationships. This area is one of the last remnants of the archaeologically rich stonefields landscapes across Auckland. and is one of the last surviving places where the land and stone walls used by Māori for growing new crops, such as wheat and European vegetables for the Auckland markets prior to 1863, still exists. The land was confiscated ‘by proclamation’ under the New Zealand Settlements Act in 1863 as part of the colonial invasion of the Waikato that drove mana whenua from their lands, ahead of the settler armies. Overnight they were made landless and impoverished. Now, that existence is further threatened by the commercial development. The proposed development site is minutes from the Auckland International Airport and should be considered as a promising cultural, heritage and ecotourism location. For many years there have been aspirations for social enterprise, local employment and sustainability initiatives that enable kaitiakitanga and tino rangatiratanga. Local and central government used the fast-track, developer-friendly provisions of the Special Housing Areas Act 2013 to designate the land. Mana whenua and community concerns were sidelined. Mana whenua have suffered enough for the good of the developing city and every critical account of history agrees with them. For more than three years, the SOUL campaign to #protectIhumātao has engaged in non-violent, direct action to raise awareness and build public support. Our guided walks and events on the land have attracted thousands of visitors. We have presented concerns to the Auckland Council Governing Body and to Parliament, met with politicians and been to the United Nations three times in two years. In 2017 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racism and Discrimination wrote to the NZ Government recommending that it ensure proper consultation with all affected Maori on this issue. A recent Environment Court decision showed significant flaws in New Zealand’s heritage legislation that did not allow the Court to consider the values of whole cultural heritage landscape when reviewing Heritage NZ’s decision to grant the company the authority to modify or destroy Maori archaeological and other heritage sites on the land. Gaining that authority doesn't make the decision right, it simply puts it within the narrow terms of the existing law and allows the developer to proceed. SOUL has now exhausted every legal means to stop the development. Now we are fast approaching a confrontation on the land but will keep doing everything we can to prevent that from happening. What we need is collective action and innovative thinking to resolve this mounting crisis. We’re now calling on the public to take a stand for this land. Join us in protecting this unique landscape for all New Zealanders and future generations. Please sign this petition now!

Most New Zealanders value equality, and the way we relate to each other, across cultural differences and other differences in background. We cherish values such as respect, and we speak often about honouring the history and cultures that shape us. Many New Zealanders overseas talk about these values and practices as reasons they’re proud of the country they come from. But our laws and politics don’t always live up to these values. In our Parliament at the moment, the seven seats reserved for MPs to represent Māori are not treated in the same way as the general seats. To abolish a Māori seat you only need a simple majority in the House (51%), whereas to abolish a General seat it takes a 75% majority. Māori seats are more precarious and treated differently from other seats. And there’s no reason for this. The Electoral Entrenchment of Maori Seats Amendment Bill introduced by MP Rino Tirikatene will secure (or entrench) the Māori seats to make sure the Maori seats get the same protections as General seats.[1] There are currently seven Māori electorates and 64 general electorates. Each one represents a seat in Parliament. The Māori seats are a way of making sure the interests of Māori are represented. If you choose to go on the Māori Roll, you will vote for someone in one of the seven Māori electorates. If an MP wins a Māori seat, they are mandated to advocate for Māori. This can allow Māori to advocate for their language, values, beliefs and culture, and to enable Māori to do things in a way that may be different to the dominant Pākehā way of doing things. This advocacy can ensure Te Tiriti o Waitangi is honoured in everything we do, or that Māori language and history is celebrated and taught in communities and schools. This advocacy can help make sure government funding goes toward Māori-led solutions to poverty, homelessness and sick rivers, as well as government and business-led ones. By securing the Māori seats we will guarantee there are people in Parliament who offer a Māori voice, not just a voice of the general population. Entrenching the seats will also remove the chance of some politicians using the Māori seats as a political football when they want media attention. We have the chance right now to make sure the cultural and political diversity of our country is protected. Sign now to show the politicians considering the Bill your support. Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi. With your contribution and my contribution, our community will flourish. Bill to entrench the Māori seats passes first hurdle, NZ Herald, 5 Sep 2018 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12119877 Harmony and the case for Māori wards, Stuff, 11 May 2018 https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/103750284/harmony-and-the-case-for-mori-wards

Associate Finance Minister David Clark and Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage granted an application under the Overseas Investments Act 2005 for Cresswell Ltd to purchase land to expand the existing Otakiri Springs water bottling plant near Whakatāne. A decision that will see 1.1 billion litres of Aotearoa New Zealand freshwater being bottled and exported. There is little information as to where the aquifer that supplies Otakiri springs comes from and how fast it recharges. The science behind the allocation of these aquifers is flawed. The data collected is not reliable enough to ensure that it is safe to collect water from. The depletion of the aquifer could potentially leave permanent damage to surrounding waterways. Tangata whenua believe that freshwater including groundwater has important cultural value. It is the belief that the mauri (life force) of the body of water (seen and unseen) needs to be intact to ensure the physical and spiritual survival of all living things. The mauri of Otakiri Springs or as local iwi and hapū know it as Te Otākiritanga ō Te Toki a Iratumoana, is at risk. The removal of water for the purposes of bottling for foreign exchange violates the mauri and sacredness of the water. This activity 1. Allows the continued contribution of plastic waste. 2. Sells New Zealand natural resources (freshwater) for corporate benefit. 3. Compromises the health and wellbeing of the waterways and aquifers. 4. Ignores the concerns of the local Whakatāne community who are directly affected by this activity. 5. Disregards section 6e of The Resource Management Act being the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands. Who really benefits in this transaction? Not tangata whenua. Not Aotearoa as a nation. But multi-billionaire foreign investors - Nongfu. Bay of Plenty Regional Council still have the power to determine the safety and preservation of our natural resource (mauri) by denying the resource consent. The New Zealand Government cannot continue to market Aotearoa as “clean green” then make decisions that directly compromise the well-being of the waterways and aquifers. Intergenerational and sustainable approaches to the environment need to be implemented to ensure we are not leaving our children a barren wasteland. But firstly, we need to stop selling our natural resources at the detriment of ourselves. When our children ask, “What did you do?” Will the response be: “I cared?” Or will it be: “I sold out.” Mo nga uri whakaheke te take. For the future generations. Please also support the petition: Stop multi-nationals profiting from our natural water resources https://bit.ly/2MQQ38B Relevant articles: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/chinas-ban-foreign-waste-wake-up-call-nz-environmentalists https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/104695650/consent-granted-for-chinese-water-bottling-giant-to-purchase-otakiri-spring

We are a community of people that value fairness and inclusion. We want our cities and towns to be vibrant and flourishing democracies where everybody participates, and our children and grandchildren can see themselves reflected in the leaders we elect. We believe the more people participate in local government, the more council decisions and actions will achieve positive outcomes for all of us - everyday people and the land we love - both now and for the future. Sadly, we are being held back from this vision because Māori are under-represented in local government and they have been for a long time. One way to rebalance this and increase Māori representation is to establish Māori wards. These are a bit like the Māori seats in Parliament, but for local government. They establish areas where those who choose to go on the Māori electoral roll can vote for councillors to represent them. In 2018, councillors in five areas - Kaikōura, Whakatāne, Western Bay of Plenty, Manawatū and Palmerston North - voted to establish Māori wards to increase Māori representation. Until Don Brash, Hobson’s Pledge and a handful of anonymous wealthy backers used fear and the politics of the past to force a public referendum using an outdated, discriminatory law. We are all for increasing participatory decision making. But these referenda are unfair for two reasons. ➡️No other ward (e.g. rural) can be subject to a referendum and decided on this way; and ➡️ The rights of a minority group should never be decided by the majority. On Saturday 19 May, all votes were counted and as of writing, all districts have voted against increasing Māori representation. In Whakatāne, 56.39 percent voted against Māori representation. 43.37 percent in favour. The total Māori population in Whakatāne? 43 percent. These referenda shouldn't have ever happened. It's long past time to change the discriminatory law that enabled them in the first place. With another referendum being floated by Hobson's Pledge and New Plymouth District Councillor Murray Chong to challenge a decision to establish a Māori ward in New Plymouth in July 2020, the time for action is now. Together, we can create an inclusive community where we all have a voice, and everyone is involved in making good decisions together about our shared future.

In 2017 10,000 members of the ActionStation community came together to co-create our united vision in Te Ira Tāngata: a People’s Agenda. This vision looks ahead to a positive future in the year 2040, the 200 year anniversary of the signing of te Tiriti o Waitangi. Our community has the vision that Aotearoa New Zealand in 2040 will be a fair and flourishing country with care, creativity, courage and compassion at its core. We will honour te Tiriti o Waitangi and the rights of indigenous people in our constitution, our institutions and in everything we do. We envision in 2040 that Aotearoa New Zealand’s constitution and structures reflect our Treaty commitments, and rangatiratanga is guaranteed to Māori. Every person in Aotearoa New Zealand understands and respects Te Tiriti as our founding document, understands the harm done by colonisation in our country, and works to heal injustices and to see Te Tiriti honoured. The Government have committed to including New Zealand history education in the core curriculum in primary and secondary schools for 2022. This is necessary and overdue. But adults and wider communities need opportunities to learn too. Sign the petition to ask the Government and political parties to join in building a future where each of us understands, values and honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and our unique history that brought us here.

The oath of allegiance, taken by all new citizens, is an important statement on what it means to be a citizen of Aotearoa. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the nation's founding document, yet the current oath only acknowledges one Treaty partner, the Crown (for more information see http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1977/0061/latest/whole.html#DLM444038). There is a need for the oath to acknowledge both Māori and the Crown, and to reflect that honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the responsibility of all citizens of Aotearoa. Changing the oath to include a statement on honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi would: - Recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of the Nation - Honour both Treaty partners in citizenship ceremonies - Make it clear that honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the responsibility of all citizens of Aotearoa - Encourage new citizens to learn about Te Tiriti o Waitangi and their relationships with tangata whenua - Be one step towards achieving an approach to immigration that recognises Māori rights, responsibilities, and aspirations 'Change the Oath' is a group of Māori and migrants of colour standing in solidarity. The group includes (in alphabetical order) Faisal Al-Asaad, Tahu Kukutai, Ricardo Menéndez March, Pania Newton, Aaryn Marsh Niuapu, Arama Rata, and Julie Zhu.

A private water company is applying to build a bottling factory at Poroti Springs, a hapū-owned pure water source, near Whangarei. The plant will not only risk the purity of the spring and aquifer but also add increased activity in the local community and around Poroti Reserve. It will create a significant health and safety issue with 80 truck movements per day, right next door to Poroti School. Please use this form to make an official submission to the Whangarei District Council. Submissions are open until 5pm Wednesday 30 August. Over years the local hapū have been shut out of decision-making over the treasured spring, and the aquifer under their Reserve. For example, the Council spent $1.08 million on establishing the adjacent bore site then sold the site to private interests for $40,000 without hapū knowledge. Now the company with rights to take the water want to build a 3600-square-metre water bottling factory across the road from the Reserve. The factory will bottle up to a million litres of water a day to sell for the domestic and Chinese markets. Your submission on the risks to the spring posed by the factory, from potential groundwater contamination and the increased traffic activity, will help the Council give more consideration to the protection of the spring and aquifer. You will also be standing with the hapū and give support for their right to be heard as guardians of the springs. Make a submission today using this form. If you have local knowledge of the area and/or people you can add a personal message to support your submission. You can make a contribution to the cost of the legal fees to deal with the Zodiac objection here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/porotisprings Zodiac Holdings Limited - Resource Consent Application http://www.wdc.govt.nz/NewsRoom/PublicNotices/Pages/Resource-Consent-Zodiac.aspx#Expand History: The Whatitiri Māori Reserves Trust is legally responsible for administering the “Whatitiri Māori Reserves” under the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 and The Māori Reservations Regulations 1994. The first seven trustees of the reserves were appointed, 28th June 1940 and replaced the people who were originally vested title in the individual blocks. The 1895 Survey Map shows Poroti Springs Reserve as a “water supply” for the benefit of hapu Te Uriroroi, Te Parawhau and Te Mahurihuri subtribes of Ngapuhi’ 1960 Sept 28th Gazette Notice – further confirms Poroti Springs Reserve as a “water supply” for the benefit of hapu Te Uriroroi, Te Parawhau and Te Mahurihuri subtribes of Ngapuhi. Our hapu of Poroti will object to the proposed building of a bottling factory just across the road from our Poroti Springs. The building is huge and will have 40 in and 40 out truck movements heading to Marsden Point. Up to 2.5 million litres of water is consented daily to Zodiac Holdings Ltd to take from the Whatitiri aquifer that feeds our springs and previous WDC takes have dried us up in 1983 and 1987. This water is intended for export to Asian markets and Zodiac has been marketing the business for sale to overseas interests. This company also markets under the name of “New Zealand Spring Water Ltd”. We as a hapu find this situation to be intolerable and yet our local Governments Northland Regional Council and Whangarei District Council facilitate for our water to be plundered by people whom do not belong to our community. We cannot accept to wake up one morning to see up to 16 foreigners loading our water across the road, 16 hours per day to send overseas. "He waka eke noa" "A canoe which we are all in with no exception. We are all in this together" For more info go to https://www.facebook.com/saveporotisprings/ News media Poroti Springs hapu not happy about bottling plant consent application, NZ Herald, 8 Aug, 2017 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11899815 Northland hapū run out of steam in water-bottling fight, RNZ, 11 August 2017 http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/337016/northland-hapu-run-out-of-steam-in-water-bottling-fight

You can read the open letter in full here: https://www.handsoffourtamariki.org.nz/ You can also join us for a rally on July 30 here: https://www.facebook.com/events/410698589765993/

The New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Lands) Bill 2016 is not supported by the vast majority of hapū and iwi members within Waitara. The Bill further divests the lands confiscated including the Pekapeka Block, from hapū and iwi. Our tupuna Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake stated clearly that Waitara must remain in the hands of our people. "I will not agree to our bedroom being sold (I mean Waitara here), for this bed belongs to all of us; and do not you be in haste to give the money. If you give the money secretly, you will get no land for it. You may insist, but I will never agree to it. . . All I have to say to you, O Governor, is that none of this land will be given to you, never, never, till I die." Wiremu Kingi to Governor Browne, April 1859. The Waitangi Tribunal emphasised that any settlements of these claims must not create further injustice, as stated: "A more arguable case would appear to be that the settlement of historical claims is not to pay off for the past, even were that possible, but to take those steps necessary to remove outstanding prejudice and prevent similar prejudice from arising; for the only practical settlement between peoples is one that achieves a reconciliation in fact." (Waitangi Tribunal The Taranaki Report, Kaupapa Tuatahi: p.315). It is our view that this Bill fails to meet the expectation by the Waitangi Tribunal and the whānau, hapū and iwi of Waitara that the settlement process would be honourable and would not reproduce the prejudices of that past. For true, meaningful and enduring resolution to take place in Waitara the stolen lands held by the NPDC must be returned to the hapū of Te Atiawa at no cost. The NPDC (and earlier councils such as the Waitara Borough Council) have received lease payments of these lands for over 100 years. Many of the original confiscation lands within Waitara have already been made freehold sections and privatised without the knowledge of the hapū and iwi. Both the council and those private owners have benefited financially while the hapū and iwi have struggled to maintain our connection to our ancestral lands. Hapū and iwi should not be forced to 'buy back' our own lands that were illegally confiscated by the colonial forces. Te Atiawa iwi should not be expected to 'buy back' lands from those that have benefited directly from the confiscation. The lands in Waitara must be returned for our people to have any sense that our voices have been heard. The lands in Waitara were stolen, the lands must be returned. Me riro whenua atu, me hoki whenua mai.

We care about our community. We want everyone to survive Covid. Border patrols help to slow the spread of the Delta variant, and give time for us to increase our vaccinations rates so we can be as protected as possible. Reference: Iwi-led border controls back in Northland as region enters alert level 3 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/453220/iwi-led-border-controls-back-in-northland-as-region-enters-alert-level-3