Hīkoi day 7: Significant disruption expected when thousands converge on capital

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About WordPress Asia Pacific Report 11 update available 22 Comments in moderation New View Post Theme support Delete Cache Howdy, David RobieAvatar photo Edit Post Add New Post Post draft updated. Preview post Add title Skip to Editor Permalink: https://asiapacificreport.nz/2024/11/18/hikoi-day-7-sign…verge-on-capital/ ‎ Word count: 636 Draft saved at 12:20:27 am. Last edited by David Robie on November 18, 2024 at 12:17 am Post Formats Standard Video Preview (opens in a new tab) Status: Draft Edit Edit status Visibility: Public Edit Edit visibility Revisions: 5 Browse Browse revisions Publish immediately Edit Edit date and time Move to Trash All Categories Most Used APAC OSI RNZ Pacific Agriculture Analysis APJS newsfile Arts Asia Pacific Journalism QUT Project Asia Pacific Media Network Asia Report Afghanistan Bangladesh Brunei Cambodia China Egypt Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Japan Lao Lebanon Malaysia Myanmar Nepal Other Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Vietnam Aviation Breaking News Business Cartoons Civil Society Climate Bearing Witness Climate & Covid Project COP23 COP26 COP27 COP28 COP29 COP31 Pacific Climate 2018 Conference of Pacific Women Crime Culture David Robie Decolonisation Democracy Development Disasters Documentaries Economics Editor's Picks Education Elections Environment Internews Evening Report Featured Features Fisheries Forests Gallery Gaza Freedom Flotilla Gender Global Health and Fitness Coronavirus History Honiara Human Rights Indigenous GMAR Waitangi Day Innovation IntJourn Project Justice Labour Language Lead Local Democracy Reporting Media Migration MIL Syndication Military Mining Multimedia Music Must Read Newsroom Plus NZ Institute for Pacific Research Obituary Opinion Pacific Coronavirus Diary Pacific Media Centre Pacific Media Conference 2024 Pacific Media Watch Pacific Pandemic Diary Pacific Profile Pacific Report American Samoa Australia Bougainville Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Guam Hawai'i Kiribati Mariana Islands Marshall Islands Nauru New Caledonia New Zealand Niue Palau-Belau Papua New Guinea Rapanui Samoa Solomon Islands Tahiti Timor-Leste Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Wallis & Futuna West Papua Pacific Voices Performance PMC Reportage Audio Images Southern Cross Text Video Police Politics Pollution Refugees Religion Reports Research Reviews Rioting Science-Technology Security Self Determination Shailendra Singh Social Media Socio-Economics Solomon Islands Elections Sports Surveillance Sustainability Syndicate Technology Telecommunications Terrorism Tertiary Tourism Trade Transport UST Journalism Weather WJEC16 WPFD2017 Youth + Add New Category Enable: The cache will be created automatically after the contents are saved. More Info Add New Tag Separate tags with commas Set featured image Paste a link from Vimeo or Youtube, it will be embedded in the post and the thumb used as the featured image of this post. You need to choose Video Format from above to use Featured Video. Notice: Use only with those post templates: Post style default Post style 1 Post style 2 Post style 9 Post style 10 Post style 11 General Smart list Reviews Post template: ? Primary category: ? If the posts has multiple categories, the one selected here will be used for settings and it appears in the category labels. Sidebar position: ? Custom sidebar: ? Default Sidebar Subtitle: This text will appear under the title Quote on blocks: Show a quote (only when this article shows up in blocks that support quote and only on blocks that are on one column) Source name: This name will appear at the end of the article in the
Thousands of people are expected in Wellington city as part of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti. Photo: Pokere Paewai

RNZ News

New Zealand’s hīkoi against the Treaty Principles Bill could be one of the largest rallies that the capital has seen for years, Wellington City Council says.

The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti will arrive in Wellington tomorrow, and locals are being warned to expect disruption and plan ahead.

Yesterday, about 5000 people filled the square in Palmerston North before the convoy headed south, stopping for a rally in Levin.

Thousands of supporters were then welcomed at Takapūwāhia Marae, in Porirua, north of Wellington.

They will have a rest day in Porirua today before gathering at Wellington’s Waitangi Park on tomorrow morning, and converging on Parliament.

“There is likely to be some disruption to roads and highways,” the council said in a statement.

‘Plan ahead’ call
“Please plan ahead if travelling by road or rail on Tuesday, November 19, as delays are possible.”

The Hīkoi will start at 6am, travelling from Porirua to Waitangi Park, where it will arrive at 9am.

It will then depart the park at 10am, travelling along the Golden Mile to Parliament, where it will arrive at midday.

The Hīkoi will return to Waitangi Park at 4pm for a concert, karakia, and farewell.

State Highways 1 and 2 busier than normal.

Police said no significant issues had been reported as a result of the Hīkoi.

A traffic management plan would be in place for its arrival into Wellington, with heavier than usual traffic anticipated, particularly in the Hutt Valley early Tuesday morning, and on SH2 between Lower Hutt and Wellington city.

Anyone living or working in the city should plan accordingly, Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell said.

Police ‘working with Hikoī’
“Police have been working closely with iwi and Hīkoi organisers, and our engagement has been positive.

“The event as it has moved down the country has been conducted peacefully, and we have every reason to believe this will continue.

“In saying that, disruption is expected through the city centre as the hīkoi makes its way from Waitangi Park to Parliament.

“We’ve planned ahead with NZTA, Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, local schools, retailers and other stakeholders to mitigate this as best possible, but Wellingtonians should be prepared for Tuesday to look a little different.”

Protesters in Dannevirke during day 6 of Hīkoi mō te Tiriti.
Riders on horseback have joined the Hīkoi along the route. Image: RNZ/Pokere Paewai

Wellington Station bus hub will be closed, with buses diverted to nearby locations.

Metlink has also added extra capacity to trains outside of peak times (9am-3pm).

Police said parking was expected to be extremely difficult on Tuesday, especially around the bus hub, Lambton Quay and Parliament grounds.

Wellingtonians were being to exercise patience, particularly on busy roads, Parnell said.

“We ask you to allow more time than normal to get where you are going. Plan ahead by looking at how road closures and public transport changes might affect you, and expect that there will be delays at some point throughout the day.”

PM: ‘We’ll wait and see’
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was playing his approach to the Hīkoi “by ear”.

He has been at his first APEC meeting in Peru, but will arrive back in New Zealand today.

He said he was open to speaking with members of the Hīkoi on Tuesday, but no plans had been made as yet.

“We haven’t made a decision. We’ll wait and see, but I’m very open to meeting, in some form or another.

“It’s obviously building as it walks through the country and gets to Wellington, and we’ll just wait and see and take it as it comes.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

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