Strong message delivered to abusers of children

As convicted paedophile James Robertson Parker entered the dock at the Kaitaia District Court once again yesterday, more than 200 people were marching through Kaitaia, calling for an end to child abuse and to show that their town should not be judged by the crimes of Parker and others of his kind.

(The former Pamapuria School deputy principal appeared in the Kaitaia district court yesterday. The outcome of the hearing, which according to the Criminal Justice Act could not be reported, was not known at edition time yesterday afternoon).

The march began at the Mana Party headquarters in North Road and made its way along the main street to the park opposite the courthouse. The initial gathering of 60 people, from toddlers to kaumatua with zimmer, and including a class from Te Rangi Aniwaniwa, had swelled to more than 200 by the time it got there.

The demonstration was organised by Anahera Herbert-Graves, chief executive of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngati Kahu, who told the crowd they had to rise above their hurt and use it to mobilise themselves against child abuse.

"Yes, we are hurting, but what is the use of hurting if we don't do something?" she asked.

Ms Herbert-Graves said the hikoi would raise awareness, and would be followed by workshops and on-going korero. It had already spawned a nationwide movement, with simultaneous rallies scheduled for Whangarei, Auckland and Hastings yesterday morning.

Changes had to come from ordinary people right up to government level, including the mandatory reporting of abuse.

"It's not enough to fight for our beach, for our whenua, for our reo, if our tamariki aren't being heard," Ms Herbert-Graves said.

She also hoped the hikoi would show the rest of New Zealand that what was happening in the courthouse across the stream was "not what Kaitaia is about."

Among those taking part was former Oturu School principal Fiona Lovatt-Davis, whose early warnings about Parker's behaviour were ignored and even derided. On a visit home from a Nigerian city riven by religious conflict, she travelled to Kaitaia especially to join the hikoi. Her new home's troubles made Kaitaia's problems look "entirely fixable," she said.

While coming back for the hikoi had been difficult, her unease was nothing compared with that of the brave children who had laid complaints against Parker.

The hikoi was Kaitaia taking the lead on confronting a difficult national issue.

"It's the Tail of the Fish mobilising the country. We need to hear the voices of our children and grant them the innocence of childhood," she said.