Airport protesters arrested
Ngati Kahu’s two-day occupation of Kaitaia Airport has ended with five protesters being arrested.
Northland police served trespass orders to the activists at 2pm on Wednesday.
About 15 demonstrators were on airport grounds at that time and many of them chose to leave.
Five of them, one woman and four men, remained behind and were arrested for trespass.
They will appear in the Kaitaia District Court on September 17.
Far North area commander Inspector Wendy Robilliard said the time had come for police to take action.
Police had earlier tried to negotiate with the occupiers to resolve the situation.
Robilliard said everyone had the lawful right to protest but this group had chosen to act unlawfully, which meant police needed to step in.
‘‘Kaitaia Airport provides an essential service for the community and we had to consider the safety and wellbeing of Kaitaia residents, particularly as medical staff and supplies needed to get into the community on flights coming into the airport,’’ she said.
The incident was resolved without injury to anyone or damage to property.
Far North District Council mayor John Carter said he was pleased with the outcome.
‘‘It’s a good outcome. It means we can resume our services.’’
Ngati Kahu chief negotiator Professor Margaret Mutu said she understood the occupiers felt they had gotten their message across.
The demonstrators were ‘‘very happy’’ with Northland MP Winston Peters’ comments in Parliament on Wednesday, she said.
They had dismantled the structures they had built on the site.
A flight carrying five specialists for the hospital was cancelled on Wednesday morning as a result of the occupation.
The Fire Service put out three small fires at the entrance to the airport before the arrests were made. Flights to and from the airport were cancelled after the protest group set up camp on the land, which they claimed was rightfully theirs, at 11am on Tuesday.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson slammed the ‘‘oafish behaviour’’ of Ngati Kahu iwi members who had occupied the airport.
Finlayson said the airport was being occupied by ‘‘a few miscreants’’ who did not represent Ngati Kahu. The occupiers had no right to interfere with members of the local community carrying out their lawful activities.
But Mutu said the activists had the full backing of the wider Ngati Kahu iwi.
She said most of the occupiers were members of the Patukoraha and Ngai Tohianga hapu and were repossessing land that was taken from them by the Government in the 1940s.