Groups left Cape Reinga and Bluff this morning, aiming to meet on the steps of Parliament in nine days' time.
Video / TVNZ
As the Hīkoi to Parliament gains momentum through Northland – joined by hundreds of children and their parents – Act leader David Seymour has warned that students taken out of school for no good reason will be marked as “unjustified absences”.
The Associate Education Minister has previously spoken of the need for children to attend school to learn.
“Any student who reaches a clearly defined threshold of days absent will trigger an appropriate and proportionate response from their school and the ministry. My expectation is that schools will treat students protesting as explained but unjustified absences,” Seymour told the Herald.
He says absent students – whether they are accompanying their parents on holiday to Europe or in this case, joining the hīkoi south, must be held accountable.
Act leader David Seymour has previously spoken of the need for children to attend school to learn. Photo / Marty Melville
“My bill promoting equal rights will not disadvantage a single person. But missing out on school will disadvantage the students who miss out on valuable learning time.”
But hīkoi lead Eru Kapa-Kingi said the tamariki and mokopuna who will join the hīkoi south were getting a far more valuable lesson than sitting in a classroom.
“These kids will look back on these days with deep emotions, knowing they were a part of this.
“This is the school of life e hoa [my friend]. These are experiences that classrooms could never give to a child – especially our tamariki Māori.
“It is the depth of mātauranga Māori [Māori knowledge].”
Eru Kapa-Kingi. Photo / Rawhitiroa Photography.
He said the support they received yesterday in Kaitāia and again this morning in Whangārei was fantastic. They will head to Dargaville, to Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson’s office, before setting off for a major day of activation – disruption – in Auckland.
“Thousands have been turning up and we will get more people as we move across the motu,” Kapa-Kingi said.
map of hikoi
“There is a real good buzz among our people and thought we have a core travelling group starting at 200 – many tamariki and mokopuna – we know more and more will join to cause as we travel south.
“It is beautiful and it’s really positive. Heaps of our babies and kaumatua are out and it’s full of Māori magic.”
The hīkoi is expected to reach Wellington on Sunday.
Organisers want a peaceful hikoi to Parliament. Photo / File
Seymour said he would meet with hīkoi leaders when they reach Wellington.
“I would be happy to meet with the organisers of the hīkoi. But I have heard he [Kapa-Kingi] didn’t want to meet me because I don’t speak Māori and it would make conversation difficult,” Seymour said.
Kapa-Kingi said the decision to meet Seymour and Luxon was not his alone to make.
“That decision will be made by the team but the focus at the moment is the hīkoi.”
