Seven protesters opposing the project were arrested by police on Monday night. Photo: LDR / Laura Smith
Rotorua Lakes Council contractors have resumed work laying pipeline at Lake Rotokākahi in the Bay of Plenty as part of its Tarawera Sewerage scheme.
Seven protesters opposing the project were arrested by police on Monday night when around 80 officers moved in to clear the area so council work could continue.
The project is expected to connect hundreds of households to the town sewerage system and the council said its approach would reduce the risk of polluting Lake Tarawera.
However, mana whenua representatives which include the Rotokākahi Board of Control, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Tumatawera said the pipeline desecrates waahi tapu and poses too much of an environmental risk.
As police were deployed to clear protesters, Rotokakahi Board of Control spokesperson Te Whatanui Leka Taumalolo Skipwith issued a warning to other communities.
"This isn't a Māori issue, this is a everyone issue here, this is for all people throughout the country, because if they can do this to us, and try and breach and impose their own whatever they want on us, imagine what they can do to you in your own home. Can they force themselves onto you in mass numbers? If they can do it to us, they'll definitely do it to you."
Skipwith said the police deployment was heavy handed and appropriately timed to slip under the radar of thousands celebrating at Te Matatini.
Rotorua Lakes Council chief executive Andrew Moraes said protesters who refused to leave were dispersed peacefully and released without charge.
Moraes said he understood the concerns of local hapū but was confident the council consulted and engaged vigourously with local iwi and hapū on the project.
"Communication and discussion has been ongoing, I've had multiple conversations with Mr Lee and others and I've always had my door open for further kōrero on this topi. The recommended option was the solution that we are now adopting and what we have now mostly installed," Morales said.
Greens MP Huhana Lyndon was one of the thousands at Te Matatini who took noticed and expressed concern over how it was handled.
"Pretty heavy handed as we've seen, a lot of police there and we know the whānau have been on site noho whenua for a really long time to uphold te taiao and the waahi tapu at Rotokākahi.
"I have aroha for all of those involved and as the Green party we are calling for a halt, for a pause to allow the Environment Court to really assess and consider all the information at hand," Lyndon said.
Council work has resumed and is expected to take around 4 weeks to complete.
Moraes said his door was always open to korero with mana whenua.
He said the ultimate shared goal of all involved was to mitigate the risk and put precautions in place that focused on protecting Lake Tarawera and the lakes around it from the risk of environmental harm as much as possible.
"In fact we've got cultural monitoring protocols in place and we have got cultural monitors working with our contractors, its actually a protocol we have used in other places across the rohe and its worked very successfully and we are confident it's gonna work."
Rotokakahi Board of Control and mana whenua said they would continue to peacefully protect their tāonga no matter what lies ahead.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
