July 16, 2019
Chainsaws come out as kaitiaki block bikes
Te Rarawa people believe their efforts to restore marine and coastal ecosystems along the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach is behind an attack on two pou at Tauroa Point.
The carved posts a kilometre apart marked an area subject to a rāhui over the taking of paua and other kaimoana from the Tauroa reef.
Lisa McNab from Ahipara Takiwā, a collective of the three marae in the area, says it seems an escalation of the fight that has been going on with off road bikers and four wheel drive enthusiasts who resent the fences the takiwā has placed around sensitive dunes.
She says the iwi has stepped up monitoring of the area.
"There's a number of houses that are like Air B&B or big houses that get rented out. When we see these trailers of bikes, we are taking photos of that because we have had enough, this is not your playground. It may have been your playground for the past whatever. We are taking back our role as kaitiaki," Ms McNab says.
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