Waiheke marina opponents in court charged with trespassing construction zone
Monday, 28 June 2021
An opponent of a Waiheke marina used her court appearance to protest what she called an “absurd” charge.
Dressed in a kākahu (cloak) she had woven herself and carrying a tokotoko (staff), Meegan Mānuka said she rejected the trespassing charge.
She appeared at Auckland District Court on Monday morning alongside fellow campaigner Alison Mell.
Both were charged with wilful trespass after swimming in an area of Pūtiki Bay marked out for construction of the Kennedy Point marina.
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Mānuka said she did not accept or recognise the trespass zone.
Mell also attempted to climb on the construction barge and faced an additional charge of intentional damage for throwing a loudhailer, belonging to the marina developers, into the sea.
Mānuka and Mell are part of Protect Pūtiki, a Ngāti Pāoa-led group opposing plans for a marina.
The group has been occupying the beach for more than 100 days and has vowed to stay there indefinitely.
Speaking to the court, Mānuka said being criminally charged for “swimming in the ocean after karakia” was an “absurdity and a waste of taxpayer money”.
Her voice broke as she said she had been trespassed for practising her customary rights.
“Trespassed from my ancestral moana, from my whakapapa – the audacity …Who owns the ocean?”
Her speech was met with cheers and applause from the public gallery, which was packed with supporters.
Mānuka pleaded not guilty, as did Mell.
Both were remanded on bail until August 16, with conditions not to enter the marina construction zone.
Mānuka requested a native assessor in future hearings.
Tensions have flared at the beach in recent weeks as construction gathers pace.
Work had been on pause while the last stages of a long-running court battle were thrashed out, but restarted after Save Save Kennedy Point (SKP) and the developers settled out of court.
Protectors have done their best to interrupt the work, occupying the breakwater, swimming in the bay and paddling out in kayaks to get between the workers and the breakwater.
They are concerned the resident kororā, little blue penguins, will be harmed by the work, and say mana whenua were not properly consulted during the consenting process.
A petition demanding Auckland Council and government instigate a review of the consent has been signed more than 17,000 times.
The Green Party has thrown its weight behind this, demanding an immediate stop of all work.
The developers maintain that protecting the kororā is a priority for them. There is a legal consent for the work happening at the marina site.