Big Turnout Expected At Napiers March For Nature On Sunday

Organisers of ‘Papatūānuku Rising’, a march through central Napier on Sunday, say they are thrilled with the support they are receiving for the event and are expecting a big turnout.

One organiser, Marilyn Scott, says hundreds of people are expected to join. “We have heard from a lot of people saying they intend to march with us. People are looking for ways to show their support for nature, for tangata whenua and for a better, fairer planet. This march, that we are calling Papatūānuku Rising, is their chance to do that.”

Ms Scott, who is known for her work with Save the Dotterels Hawke’s Bay and other local environmental initiatives, says Papatūānuku Rising will echo the March for Nature in Auckland recently, which attracted 20,000 people. She adds that although people are concerned and angry, Sunday’s march will be a whānau-friendly festive occasion, with music and plenty of laughter.

Those taking part will gather at Clive Square in central Napier at 1pm. The march will go along Emerson Street to the Soundshell on Marine Parade.

Ms Scott says the march is being organised by a group of Māori and Pākehā “dismayed at the government’s attack on nature, particularly through its proposed Fast Track Bill and also its numerous attempts to undermine Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Reo Māori.”

Putaanga Waitoa, is another organiser. She describes the march as representing every part of society. “And, importantly, our whenua, language and mokopuna. This is mokopuna focused and powered by people advocating for change and Tino Rangatiratanga."

Marilyn Scott says “Papatūānuku Rising is a call for kotahitanga, to bring people together, not tear them apart with divisive and inequitable policies that are taking us backwards and undoing years of progress.

“The march supports three core principles: protecting Te Taiao, our environment, and living within finite planetary boundaries; honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi by understanding and taking responsibility for our own colonial history and the ongoing colonisation of other indigenous nations; and working towards greater equity and fairness in our society.”

Speakers at the Soundshell will include Environmental Researcher, Wilson Pearse; Nick Ratcliffe from Ceasefire Now HB; Kerri Nuku, Kaiwhakahaere for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) and Marilyn Scott.

Nick Ratcliffe says the fact that 20,000 people turned out at Aotea Square in Auckland last month “tells us that this government does not have a mandate to carve up the motu like this and consent to its exploitation by the highest bidder”.

“Their dismantling of our social and constitutional infrastructure - Te Aka Whai Ora, Te Pūkenga, Kāinga Ora, Te Tiriti o Waitangi - is not just an attack on Māori, it’s an attack on all of us.

“Take UNDRIP [the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples] for example - Act was the only party to object when John Key’s government endorsed UNDRIP in 2010, and now Luxon refuses to recognise it. The Nats might be the engine room in Parliament at the moment, but we can see who’s at the steering wheel, and that’s not what National voters voted for. 85% of voters should be out here on the streets with us on July 28th,” says Nick.

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