QE2 cancels Waitangi Day visit

By BRIDGET CARTER

One of the world's largest luxury cruise ships, the Queen Elizabeth 2, has cancelled its first trip to the Bay of Islands because of potential protest action on Waitangi Day.

Northland harbour master Ian Niblock said Cunard Line, which owns the 70,000-tonne ship that has been carrying passengers around the world since 1969, last week abandoned plans to sail into the Bay of Islands on February 6 because of fears that protesters would disrupt activities attended by QE2 passengers.

Instead, the ship would take 1400 people straight to Hobart from Auckland on February 4.

A Cunard Line spokesman in Sydney would not comment last night on the decision to pull the Bay of Islands leg of the trip.

But the Bay of Islands business community, which has been anticipating the QE2's arrival for 18 months, is angry.

And the decision surprised activist and Ngapuhi kaumatua Titewhai Harawira, who said cancelling the trip was ridiculous.

"I have never heard of anything so stupid," she said.

Any protest action that might happen on Waitangi Day had nothing to do with overseas visitors, she said.

"It would be lovely to have them."

The QE2 is Cunard's flagship and one of the world's fastest and largest passenger ships. Mr Niblock said he thought the famous ship had sailed into the Bay of Islands once before, but did not drop anchor.

Locals were anticipating that her passengers would come ashore and spend about $200 a day, adding about $200,000 to the Far North's economy.

Fullers Bay of Islands operations manager Jim Whitehorn said Fullers had been expecting to charter vessels for the cruise liner's passengers. The cancellation was a huge loss. "We are not at all impressed," he said. "Years of work goes into trying to get these vessels here in the first place."

Destination Northland chief executive Brian Roberts said tourists never had problems with activity on Waitangi Day. A cruise ship last came into the Bay of Islands on Waitangi Day five years ago, he said. The Herald had carried a photo of a waka escorting it into the bay.

The National Party MP for Northland, John Carter, said the Government could not afford to keep letting fringe activists damage the country's international reputation.

The Government should take a hard line on lawlessness on Waitangi Day.

Fringe activists also damaged New Zealand's reputation in Taranaki recently during filming of The Last Samurai, after reports circulated that some Maori were unhappy there was no financial recognition of their interest in Mt Taranaki.