Ninety Mile Beach to be cleansed of drug stigma with blessing

The abandoned boat that played a leading role in the record methamphetamine seizure on 90 Mile Beach. Picture / Supplied

Ninety Mile Beach, where half a tonne of methamphetamine was landed three years ago, is to be blessed to restore its sanctity and send a message that the drug is not wanted in the Far North.

With the court process completed, iwi are planning to declare Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē a sacred space, out of bounds to methamphetamine.

Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi said details had yet to be decided along with Te Aupōuri, which also claims part of the beach within its rohe, but the ceremony would be open to all.

Mr Piripi accepted that the blessing, part of a wider campaign against the drug in the Far North, would be a symbolic act and unenforceable, but it would let everyone know that the beach was regarded as sacrosanct.

"It's an area that should be enjoyed by everyone peacefully, we don't want it used as a smuggler's cove," he said.

"This sort of activity is so destructive to our people and to society, we have to address it in every way we can."

It was the sheer magnitude of the haul that had shocked the iwi and scared people: "Something on that magnitude can destroy an entire iwi."

Te Rarawa had done what it could to help the police investigation, and he was pleased that those involved were now in jail.

Meanwhile, Inspector Riki Whiu said the police would support the iwi by taking part in the blessing.

"It will give iwi an opportunity to have some closure and acknowledge the impact of such heinous criminal activity, which has trampled on the mana of the place and the people," he said.

"It will acknowledge the breach of tapu the iwi has sustained, but it's also an opportunity for the rest of the country, and the world, to hear from iwi about how they feel about the activity of this group of people, who are not from the Far North. How dare they bring this type of activity to an area that is steeped in sacredness and history, an area which is already suffering harm, and not just from methamphetamine?"

Mr Piripi said some residents had been upset when the finger was first pointed at local gangs, but that perception had not lasted long. Those jailed belonged to criminal groups in Hong Kong and Australia, the latter including deportees sent back to New Zealand.