The event was organised by the three iwi of Tauranga Moana: Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pūkenga. Fires will be lit throughout the hīkoi down the coastal boundary of Mataatua, from Bowentown to Tihirau.
Diana Hellier felt “a bit tearful” and emotional because “it’s just taking away so many things that have been gained”.
“It’s going back to a place we don’t want to go. To me it is ridiculous.”
Gary Borman said in his view “this Government is just destroying everything … there isn’t anything they haven’t touched”.
He was “angry” and believed the proposed Treaty Principles Bill “has taken us back 50 years”.
A bonfire to support Hīkoi Mō Te Tiriti was held at sunrise at Mount Maunganui Beach.
Retired teacher Christine Allen from Auckland said she had seen “what happened with all our children with te reo Māori throughout the schools”.
“I just see that this as a really big backwards step. The Government would just like to push it under the carpet and pretend it never happened and go back to the way it was. And that really frightens me.”
Sarah Ayo wanted to send her well wishes to the people who were going on the hīkoi.
“I don’t whakapa Māori myself but I still wanted to come along and show my support.”
Diana Hellier, Gary Borman and Christine Allen.
Glen Ayo said Māoridom was here and you could not break that up now.
In his opinion, David Seymour showed arrogance to try and stop everything in its tracks.
“So that is why we are here.”
Student nurse Danielle Taute, who had just finished her training, had been learning about Te Tiriti and what it means and “how it does really matter”.
“It’s really, really hit me in a deep place. Coming here for me was seeing what the future could look like with the community coming together. And hopefully change going in the right direction rather than the wrong one.”
Sarah Ayo, Glen Ayo and Danielle Taute.
Memory and Aria Hunapo wanted to show support “for our people, our land and for our mana”.
For Tracy Colton, it was about the future generations while Pip Brook said in her view the bill was “appalling”.
“I’m ‘Pākehā and I think it’s just disgusting that they have allowed the bill to even get to this point. Sometimes you just have to stand up sometimes and say, ‘actually, I’m with you’.”
Ngāi Te Rangi deputy chief executive Roimata Ah Sam thanked those who attended the fire lighting ceremony and explained the meaning of the kaupapa.
“It matters because David Seymour wants to unwind the Government responsibility that Māori are protected, our reo (language), our whenua (land) and everything that binds the agreement (Treaty of Waitangi) ensures we stay here loud and proud.”
She said you did not have to be Māori to care about it and it was not just a Māori kaupapa but a New Zealand kaupapa.
The fire was lit to warm the whenua for the hīkoi and while the trail would not pass through Tauranga Moana, a busload of supporters would join others in Hamilton. The hīkoi would arrive at Parliament on November 19.
Pip Brook and Tracy Colton with Aruna and Mana Hape.
Before iwi member Tipene Walters gave the final karakia he expressed his thanks to David Seymour.
“You are trying to divide us but you are actually uniting us.”
Associate Justice Minister David Seymour, who is responsible for the Treaty Principles Bill, said the bill can’t and won’t diminish the Māori language or culture.
“As I said at Waitangi last year, Act is committed to cherishing the Māori language and culture,” Seymour said.
“Every step towards equal rights in New Zealand is a step forward. The Treaty Principles Bill provides an opportunity for New Zealanders - rather than the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal - to have a say on what the Treaty means.
“Did the Treaty give different rights to different groups, or does every citizen have equal rights? I believe all New Zealanders deserve to have a say on that question.”
Carmen Hall is a communications advisor for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Trust and a former Bay of Plenty Times journalist.
