Locals also said the group was breaking rules and “pissing people off”.
Freedom campers on Milford Beach on October 9. Photo / Jason Dorday
Hīkoi co-organiser Te Rewiti said the group has had “a few arrests along the way”. He described the group’s time in Milford as “interesting”.
“A lot of those rich people, they look down on us. Some of them look us up and down, but others don’t. The others, they get it … All those riches and all those material things are shallow things.
“For me, it’s just to remind them, hey, we’re still around. We’re just exercising our rights with aroha, and we look after the places where we go to.”
One van displayed “F** Da’ Govt” and “we did not cede” signs, while a flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand waved in the wind.
Auckland Council compliance manager Adrian Wilson said they “received complaints from members of the public regarding this group, and our community safety team engaged with members last week”.
A “F** Da’ Govt” sign could be seen on a van at the campsite. Photo / Jason Dorday
“The group is part of a hīkoi walking along the highway and is being monitored by police as it makes its way to Waitangi, and we understand they moved on from Milford Beach over the weekend.”
The Hikoi For Remedy #1835 describes itself as “a collective of people, who choose to exercise and activate our Tino Rangatiratanga, looking for pathways forward, remedy and continuously pushing boundaries, that we may escape the hinaki (trap) that we have systematically been placed into”.
Te Rewiti said “our sovereignty has been taken from us” and the movement is a protest against “illegitimate” governments, laws and authority.
“When our ancestors signed those sacred documents, we’re talking about Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga, they never ceded their Tino Rangatiratanga.
“However, by policy, by force and by operation of law, our sovereignty has been taken from us. It was never freely given.”
Rawinia Horomia Te Rito, who was at the 2022 Wellington protest and recently joined the group, said the movement taught her a history that “we weren’t educated about”.
Rawinia Horomia Te Rito joined the hīkoi because she “agrees with what they’re talking about”. Photo / Jason Dorday
“I’ve come on this hīkoi because I agree with what they’re talking about … We went to Wellington, picked up the mauri [from the 2022 protest] and we’re taking it back up to Waitangi.
“I’m just here for my mokopuna, for our future generations, to make sure that governments aren’t making those decisions for us, and they can have a chance for the future. It’s about food, it’s about housing, it’s about living.”
She said police had visited the Milford Beach campsite.
Te Rewiti said the anti-government sentiment is a protest against “illegitimate authority” and “overreach”.
“We feel that we’ve been pushed for far too long, and it’s not just Māori, it’s now everybody.
“They all serve money. They all serve banks and the super rich.”
About “four or five” people at a time have taken part in the hīkoi across the North Island, with people joining the walks and various camps along the way.
The group, currently at Mangawhai Heads, plans to reach Waitangi later this month ahead of the October 28 He Whakaputanga commemorations.