Waka gather at Tii Beach during last year's Waitangi Day commemorations. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Waka gather at Tii Beach during last year's Waitangi Day commemorations. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The Waitangi National Trust will take the unprecedented step of closing the Treaty Grounds this Waitangi Day, saying it would be ''totally irresponsible'' to allow people to gather at the historic site as the Omicron variant spreads.
The trust eariler cancelled all in-person events at the Treaty Grounds.
Another factor in the closure is the 100-person limit under the red traffic light setting — even if vaccine passes were enforced — which the trust says makes opening the grounds untenable.
In a normal year more than 30,000 people visit the Treaty Grounds and nearby Te Tii Marae on Waitangi Day.
Commemorations will, however, go ahead at the marae, where hapū are planning a three-day programme of events.
It is not yet clear whether Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern or opposition leader Christopher Luxon will be invited to the marae, or if they would attend if invited. Rueben Taipari, a Tai Tokerau border control coordinator, said he had been working with Te Tii Marae for the past month to plan a Covid response.
''Everyone is concerned about Omicron, and rightly so, but I believe we have the knowledge and experience to uphold the mana of Waitangi while still keeping everyone safe.''
His advice included not holding a hīkoi, running the speakers' forum as a virtual event, only allowing kaumātua and kuia inside the wharekai, and holding speeches outdoors.
Taipari has been vocal about the need to organise official commemorations at the marae. If hapū didn't take the lead he was concerned other groups would stage their own events and use Waitangi Day for their own purposes.
The event could be run safely if it was well managed and protocols were adhered to, he said.
''If Ngāpuhi don't control it, then randoms will hijack our kaupapa and it will be run very dangerously. Our kaumātua intend to be there and so we have to be there to protect them from any issue of concern that threatens their health and wellbeing.''
Commemorations will go ahead at Te Tii Marae this Waitangi Day, despite the cancellation of in-person events at the nearby Treaty Grounds. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Meanwhile, Waitangi National Trust chairman Pita Tipene said advice had been taken from health experts, police and legal advisers before deciding to close the estate on Waitangi Day.
''The health and safety of visitors, staff and the local community is of paramount importance to the trust so closing the estate is the only responsible decision under the circumstances,'' he said.
The trust was legally obliged to comply with the Government's Covid Protection Framework and ensure no unlawful gatherings took place on its land.
Tipene said the decision wasn't taken lightly.
"The trustees fully appreciate that many people want to gather at Waitangi on Waitangi Day, our national day. However, we are in the middle of a global pandemic and with the Omicron variant now in the community and expected to spread quickly, we can't proceed as if everything was normal. That would be totally irresponsible, not to mention unlawful, and trustees are not prepared to risk the health and safety of the public.''
Tipene encouraged New Zealanders to commemorate Waitangi Day in their own homes and communities, with the hope of a return to ''some sort of normal'' at the Treaty Grounds next year.
There won't be a dawn service - or any other in-person events - at the Treaty Grounds this Waitangi Day. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The Advocate understands the great waka Ngātokimatawhaorua won't be launched on Waitangi Day lest it be drawn into a political fray but some kind of waka display may take place depending on Covid case numbers and protests.
Possibilities include a waka salute in Tii Bay, in font of the marae, on February 6.
Details of the Waitangi National Trust's virtual Waitangi Day, in conjunction with radio, TV and online broadcasters, will be announced shortly.
Ardern was at Waitangi last Friday to film a message, which is expected to be part of the virtual commemorations.
In a taste of what could happen if politicians were to visit the Bay of Islands, a video uploaded to social media showed anti-vaccine protesters using their vehicles to box in a van believed to be carrying Ardern on Marsden Rd, Paihia. The van driver was forced to take evasive action by driving over the footpath.
