Ihumātao

A group of local activists, led by Pania Newton, opposed the development of the site and staged protests and an occupation of the land over the next three years.

[6] The environment-modifying techniques used in the Ōtuataua Stonefields allowed early Tāmaki Māori to propagate crops which were not suited to a cooler climate.

When the Waiohua people began to re-establish themselves in the Tāmaki Makaurau area in the later 18th century, most settled around the Manukau Harbour and South Auckland.

[21] In 1863, due to fears of an imminent war with Waikato Tainui, Governor Grey ordered the eviction of all Māori occupants of the South Auckland and Manukau Harbour areas, who did not swear an oath to the Queen and give up arms.

[25] Most Māori occupants of the area felt they had no choice due to their strong ties to Tainui and Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, and were forced to flee to the south.

[30] The Manukau City Council attempted to preserve the adjacent land at Ihumātao as part of the reserve in 2009, however this was later overruled on appeal by the Environment Court.

[31] In 2014, the New Zealand Government and Auckland Council designated 32 hectares adjacent to the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve as a Special Housing Area (SHA).

This was met by opposition by a Māori activist group led by University of Auckland law graduate Pania Newton called "Save Our Unique Landscape" (SOUL), who opposed the proposed development due to Ihumātao's historical significance.

[33] In response to Fletcher Building's planned housing development on the Oruarangi Bloc, the protest group SOUL led by Pania Newton set up camp beside Ihumātao Quarry Road on 4 November 2016.

[27][35][36][37] In 2017, SOUL appealed to the United Nations, which recommended that the designation of Ihumātao as a Special Housing Area be reviewed by the Government to "evaluate its conformity with the Treaty of Waitangi, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other relevant international standards" and that "the free and informed consent of Māori is obtained before approving any project affecting the use and development of their traditional land and resources.

[27][39] In March 2019, SOUL and their supporters in Wellington submitted a petition to the New Zealand Parliament demanding government intervention to prevent a confrontation on Ihumātao.

[40] In April 2019, SOUL also delivered a 20,000 signature petition to the Mayor of Auckland Phil Goff, calling on Council and the government to protect the land.

[41] According to media reports, the Ihumātao housing development dispute was characterised by a generational divide within Te Kawerau ā Maki.

[16][46] Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson and MPs Chlöe Swarbrick and Golriz Ghahraman supported the protestors, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government would not intervene.

[16] On 25 July 2019, seven supporters of the occupation were arrested after blocking traffic on a road leading out of Auckland Airport to call attention to the situation at Ihumātao.

[50][51] Just hours after Tūheitia's visit, footage of two armed police officers carrying rifles around Ihumātao caused considerable alarm to protestors and supporters, and led to calls for guns to be removed from the site.

[55][56][57][58][59] In early August 2019, Opposition Leader Simon Bridges called on the protesters to "return home" and criticised Ardern for halting construction.

[62][63] On the same day, a group of students including Youth MPs were expelled from Parliament for a year after disrupting parliamentary proceedings by singing the Māori song "Tutira Mai Nga Iwi" while holding up the Tino Rangatiratanga flag to draw attention to the hikoi.

[66] In response to media coverage, deputy prime minister Winston Peters claimed that the SOUL protesters had little authority among the Māori community.

[71] In mid November, it was reported the Government was considering loaning the Auckland Council NZ$40 million to purchase the Ihumātao land from Fletcher Building.

[74] On 21 January 2020, Pania Newton, the leader of the SOUL group, issued a statement to the media that they were close to completing a deal on the disputed land at Ihumātao.

[77] On 17 December 2020, the Government reached a deal with Fletcher Building to buy the disputed Ihumātao land for NZ$30 million with the proposal that it be used for housing purposes.

The sandy beaches and wide tidal flats were once rich with shellfish and the harbour provided fish and a regionally important shark fishery.