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To: The NZ Government and Auckland Council

#protectihumātao

December 17, 2020 was a very significant day for our tūpuna and whānau of Makaurau Marae, for the Ihumātao papakāinga and for the iwi and hapū who whakapapa to this whenua.

The Crown announced it will acquire the contested land from Fletcher and activate a process to determine its future.

SOUL is urgently seeking Government and Auckland Council intervention, to either buy the land at Ihumaatao known as SHA62 from Fletcher Building Limited or mandate a process that will enable all affected parties to come up with an outcome everyone can live with.

Why is this important?

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.

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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!

How it will be delivered

In person at Parliament, and to the Auckland Council Governing Body.

Ihumatao Quarry Road, Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

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Updates

2021-08-05 17:07:26 +1200

Petition is successful with 55,157 signatures

2019-08-02 23:16:19 +1200

50,000 signatures reached

2019-07-26 10:31:26 +1200

Wow, thank you, thank you for your support!! The petition has jumped 12,000 in 3 days. Ka mau te wehi! To stay in regular contact with the latest from the kaitiaki protecting Ihumaatao, follow along on the SOUL facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pg/protectihumatao/posts/?ref=page_internal

2019-06-07 12:40:37 +1200

Latest update from Kaitiaki Village, down at Ihumaatao. Working bees are there every Sunday from 10am - 1pm, bring your gardening gloves and tools and connect with the whenua! Also, a call out to builders, roofers and tilers, to help set up and stablise existing structures. Pop over to our facebook page if you can volunteer your time and skills. Mauri ora! https://www.facebook.com/protectihumatao/videos/568287517031562/

2019-05-15 15:34:11 +1200

Tēnā koutou #protectihumaatao supporters! Energy is high at Kaitiaki Village. If you're unable to visit in person, you can follow along with the video updates on the SOUL Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/protectihumatao/videos/387331741862908/

Shout out to all the whanau, friends, and supporting roopu who have helped to sustain us here at Kaitiaki Village to protect Ihumātao. Mauri Ora!

2019-04-08 22:51:56 +1200

20,000 signatures reached

2019-03-11 22:25:57 +1300

Today our SOULdiers are on a hīkoi to Parliament, to present the petition! Exciting! You can follow the progress of the hīkio on facebook (Save Our Unique Landscape campaign). Here's some media about it:

RNZ article: "The future of Ihumātao could look "amazing", she said, if mana whenua and the local community could lead the protection of the land. "The government needs to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and take leadership in finding a peaceful solution, otherwise this issue is not going anywhere." (Marama Davidson) https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/384487/south-auckland-group-takes-land-protest-to-parliament?fbclid=IwAR1dHsC04rHUJvO9xoNDVyfLnzXLTpL8n9FtqFBX1-x-TrDn3dnCqQ87Ekw

Spinoff article: https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/11-03-2019/ihumatao-a-field-of-stones-and-flags/?fbclid=IwAR2OQ_oZwfTb_AIuq0K6o5RY5P1tXqr6FXy71tlofne1rUMOluadFx9lPFw

2019-02-19 10:32:57 +1300

Footage from SOUL's National Day of Action last Friday, filmed by Accompany Collective. This action is outside Fletcher's headquarters in Tāmaki Makaurau. Actions also took place in Poneke (Wellington), Otepoti (Dunedin), and Kirikiriroa (Hamilton).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxxbPu3tECs&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0yF87jUEJAsu0i13ix9J2PAcRItoIaf0rwjDwGK1-uhrtF285iq41K5XU

2019-02-12 10:19:22 +1300

"Delivering a petition to lawmakers is the last act of resistance before the bulldozers move into Ihumātao" - VICE NZ article on the petition and the fight to #protectihumātao.

The petition is gaining momentum, thank you to all our supporters! Mauri ora!

https://www.vice.com/en_nz/article/7xnxe4/this-hapu-is-taking-the-fight-for-their-land-to-the-steps-of-nz-parliament

2019-02-05 22:12:32 +1300

10,000 signatures reached

2019-01-22 10:31:25 +1300

5,000 signatures reached

2019-01-20 11:16:31 +1300

We need your help to get more signatures for our petition.
Sign to preserve our cultural heritage
Sign to reclaim our land
Sign to #protectihumātao
Sign for #justice
Sign to preserve #greenspace
SIGN BECAUSE ITS RIGHT!!
Check out this cool video, share it and get your work mates, friends and whaanau to sign today!

https://www.facebook.com/834778129949716/videos/528098474362808/

Video Credit: Conan Fitzpatrick

2019-01-12 14:20:59 +1300

After looking deeply into why Ihumātao has not been recognised as heritage worthy of protection in New Zealand, SOUL has uncovered the extent of the bias toward protecting colonial built heritage over sites of Māori significance - an issue that is seen across the world. Here Pania tells the story of the fight to #protectihumātao and how the Government is failing our nation by neglecting to protect Māori cultural sites.
Here is Pania's TED Talk on this topic, from late 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT11yvE5plo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0IuYcLddEN_kvQiXVKHiYXEQrIA53IK5pFaARtvNeLBLHGZt5gor1uxfc

2018-11-28 16:51:13 +1300

1,000 signatures reached

2018-11-27 23:02:52 +1300

500 signatures reached