Hīkoi planned, as Māori councillors speak up on Kaipara karakia ban

The Kaipara community has organised a hīkoi or march next week to protest the district mayor's ban on karakia.

Last week, Mayor Craig Jepson shouted down Māori Ward Councillor Pera Paniora while attempting to recite one before a council meeting.

He later told 1News he intended to run a secular and inclusive council where everyone was treated equally.

The hīkoi will take place on Wednesday in Dargaville where protesters plan to voice their opposition when the council meetings begins at 9.30am.

Māori councillors from around the country are throwing their support behind their plight, expressing their concern at a meeting in Wellington this week.

Paniora was acknowledged for her courage by Northland Regional Councillor Peter Lucas Jones, who called the mayor's behaviour racist.

"Kua kite tātou i te āhuatanga o te kaikiri i waenganui i a rātou."

New Plymouth District Councillor Dinnie Moeahu said the ban was completely out of touch and wrong.

"It's part of who we are as a people, it's our culture, it's not a religion, it's not something that's attached to it, it's just who we are," he said.

"We are in 2022, it's time to walk alongside each other and move on and also respect each other's differences, that's how we move forward together, it's not going back into the dark ages."

Nelson's Deputy Mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens wanted to remind the Kaipara mayor whose land his council's buildings were built on.

"The whenua that council meetings are being held on was originally Māori, iwi and hapū whenua. I think anything we can do to acknowledge that, but also to bring in this beautiful cultural aspect that make Aotearoa, Aotearoa, is a good thing."

Paniora has been overwhelmed with support from locals, many of whom have indicated that they will join the protest.

"The community are angry and rightly so."

She said being Māori on council could be isolating and culturally unsafe.

But support is on its way.

The hui officially marked the beginning of Te Āhuru Mōwai, a new programme targeted specifically at newly elected Māori councillors.

They will soon be paired with a mentor who they can lean on for support and guidance.

"We have this ability to come together in crisis and there's a lot of magic when we do," said Moeahu.

Kia hora te marino

Kia whakapapa pounamu te moana

Hei hurahi mā tātou I te rangi nei

Aroha atu, aroha mai

Tātou i a tātou katoa

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(May peace be widespread, Many the sea be like greenstone; a pathway for all of us this day. Let us show respect for each other, for one another. Bind us all together).