Members of Ngātiwai iwi sailed to the Poor Knights Islands this week, raising a flag and placing a carved pou in protest of the Government’s recent amendment to the Marine and Coastal Area Act ~ which they describe as modern-day raupatu (confiscation).

Led by chairman Aperahama Kerepeti-Edwards, the group journeyed from Tūtūkākā in a traditional waka hourua to reaffirm Ngātiwai’s tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) over their ancestral waters and islands.

Kerepeti-Edwards said the action was a deliberate stand against what he sees as moves to weaken Māori rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. He called on Ngātiwai descendants to raise flags across beaches, headlands, and islands this summer ~ a symbol that their presence, authority, and resolve remain unbroken.

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