Many of the councilors sat grim-faced as, for more than an hour, a number of the protesters stood up one by one and explained the history of the fight for this marae and its importance for them.

The marchers began at Harbourview South, 10 hectares of which the Maori want set aside for the marae (1 hectare=2.47 acres). The city council has designated 80 hectares of land at Harbourview as a "People's Park" and refused to allocate any of it for a marae.

Melba Wellington, a protest organizer, explained that the city council had offered them land on top of an old rubbish dump, an offer they found offensive. The council has a policy of providing 2.5 hectares for a marae but has delayed on finding a suitable site.

"Who are these people to tell us what we can have and not have," Wellington told a local newspaper. "People need to be educated so that they recognize that we do have rights."  
 
 
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