Iti to face trial on firearms charge

Activist Tame Iti has been committed to trial on a charge of unlawfully possessing a firearm in a public place.

But an unrepentant Iti, who has pleaded not guilty, said police had no case against him because he was on his own marae.

"I adhere to the laws of Tuhoe," he told a depositions hearing in the Whakatane District Court yesterday.

"We aren't talking about some enraged gunman running rampant on the street," said the 54-year-old mental health worker.

Community magistrates Kevin Hurley and Heather White found after a lengthy hearing, much of it translated from Maori, that Iti had a case to answer. His bail was continued until a call-over date in the Tauranga District Court on August 4.

Iti is accused of brandishing and firing a shotgun before members of the Waitangi Tribunal and Crown officials at Ruatoki on January 16.

Iti, who could face up to four years in prison if found guilty, said "breaking arms" was in accordance with Tuhoe custom at significant welcomes.

He had done it many times before under hapu authority without being criminally charged. The Ruatoki protest was a re-enactment of the 1860s Government "scorched earth" policy for the eastern Bay of Plenty.

It was a way for Tuhoe to vent anger and pain over how they had been treated, he said. Police had charged him only after the event was shown on national television, prompting a parliamentary debate and pressure from Wellington.

Police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Tony Rielly said customs could not exceed or displace laws. The case was important because there was limited case law on authority in relation to discharging of firearms during protest demonstrations.