strangely I feel like all the parts of
my life have come together for this
purpose to protect Eva motto even motto
is land that is at the heart of Auckland
New Zealand but as currently the subject
of a political land struggle Here I am
at the age of nine and a time capsule
at school I wrote that I wanted to
become a lawyer to make a difference I
worked hard to achieve that and in the
same year that I graduated and was about
to go into a law practice I discovered
that there were survey pigs on ancestral
land that was due to become public open
space this was a huge concern for us and
so upon investigations we discovered
that there was a housing development
being proposed for this land I went
immediately into beast mode or what we
would call
ktucky mode and quickly I put my law
career on hold and I decided to pursue
justice for this land and fulfill my
responsibilities to the cultural and
heritage landscapes at Yamato
I’ve unknowingly and unexpectedly become
the spokesperson for the soul campaign
that was co-founded by me and my five
cousins and supported by our families
and our community and now we are working
towards the protection and preservation
of ancestral cultural and heritage
landscapes our motto now the photo that
you see here is Hamato it is the oldest
continuously occupied Maori village in
Auckland and arguably the oldest across
the country for over six hundred years
people there have been turning the rocks
arranging and rearranging them to create
stone walls gardens roads houses and
more recently
he bought runways nationally significant
to our nation’s history because it was
here that gardens were intensively
cultivated by Maori that fed the growing
population of Auckland which made it one
of the wealthiest areas in all Tarawa
archaeologists would argue that even
motto is internationally significant
because Oh Tara was the last point of
human migration from Africa and here Eva
motto the landscape speaks to the
earliest human inhabitation and New
Zealand daiva are well respected
archaeologists in New Zealand describes
this area as a sin place a place with a
veil that separates time and space as
transparent with a spiritual and the
physical the past and the present emerge
a sacred place he says Oh wha he tapu
Dave will always make the point that
he’s a scientist and he’s not meant to
feel these sorts of ways he’s been
around the world and worked on many
projects but he says they’re even motto
that’s the only place that he feels that
sort of thinness this is the sort of
significance that we talk about here at
Yamato there were hundreds of acres of
this sort of land all across Auckland
but in the last forty years many of it
has been destroyed and their eerie motto
remains the last remnants of this sort
of landscape and that is why we are
trying to protect it even my atoll was
only five minutes from the Auckland
International Airport and although
thousands of ash drive past there every
day and fly over it few of us have ever
heard about this place situated well
within the boundaries of Vulcan even
motto feels off the beaten track and in
many ways it is this is probably why
even motto has remained largely outside
the consciousness of many New Zealanders
until recently until we developed a
campaign to protect it from development
history on this landscape is not
monumental there’s no fixed beginnings
or endings grand narratives or imposing
structures instead the history there is
fine grained ancestral and deep-rooted
heritage for me as anything that is
valued by communities that speaks to the
past that informs our future hee-hoo
motto is just that for me it is there
that I possessed my greatest sense of
belonging and connection to the
landscapes and to my culture and to my
ancestors for us as Maori this is termed
– danga Weiwei it is there that I feel
this umbilical connection to the land
the mountains that our the Moana because
it is those things that sustain me
physically mentally socially and this
aligns with a holistic worldview a Maori
worldview the narratives of this place
are grafted through tangible remnants of
stone soil and water but the true beauty
of this place lies within the intangible
values they reach back beyond the the
narratives that historians and
archaeologists and heritage
practitioners and lawmakers would
conventionally rely on these intangible
values are the things that create deep
senses of belongings and those are
represented through the stories the
songs and the relationships that people
have with this place the importance of
these intangible values are overlooked
time and time again through our heritage
management of places of importance in
New Zealand this raises the question for
me do we know what’s important about our
heritage in New Zealand for me I don’t
think we do well it’s not balance to say
the least
heritage New Zealand as the agency that
is tasked with looking after our
nation’s heritage but when I look at the
sites protected on its Heritage List
I noticed that over 80% of them are
colonial built structures or colonial
places and then I look at the other 10%
that are specifically a Maori heritage
sites and the other 10% is probably a
mixture of both I ask why is the so
unbalanced our Maori heritage sites not
important to our national heritage if so
why isn’t greater emphasis being placed
on these indigenous sites it seems to me
there as a nation we value some forms of
heritage over others but if heritage is
not simply about those pretty things why
are we having so much trouble listing
and protecting places and landscapes
that are reminders to us of our pre
colonial legacies a closer look at the
evidence shows that there are over 600
churches 340 church buildings protected
on the Heritage List compared to the
hundred and eighty-three sites that are
deemed waahi tapu or waahi tapu
areas what are we saying about our
relationship to the past how is this not
a sign that the current list is needing
a rebalancing and a serious critical
review why is the focus still on built
heritage which is so disproportionately
about colonial history to put this
further into context the cultural
landscape heritage at Yamato is
currently the subject of an appeal and
the Environment Court because the
national agency tasked with looking
after our national places has approved
an application to destroy heritage
features on this land why to make way
for a multi-million dollar housing
complex proposed by Fletcher’s building
limited when preparing to lodge our
appeal to court we uncovered that 95
percent of applications to modify and
destroy archaeological sites are granted
I asked myself how well are we
doing what is important to our nation
and have we got that balance right or is
this more whitespace colonial structural
racism for example here you have the
Civic Theatre built in the late 1920s
for entertainment purposes here you have
Eva motto with the aliens inhabitants of
Otero I lived and thrived for hundreds
of years the demolition of the Civic
Theatre is prohibited but for hamato
heritage new zealand has approved the
destruction of cultural and heritage
sites that are significant to us as
monofin you are a city and as a nation
our places like the Civic Theatre more
important to our national identity than
these ancestral landscapes why is it
there winners colonial heritage there is
a higher threshold for preventing
demolition the key to our national
identity is an outcome of the investment
we make and protecting our heritage
whose identity not just which race but
also which generation consultation with
a diversity of people with a connection
to this land rather than the
self-serving limited group who will
benefit from this development has been a
criticism we have taken to the United
Nations and have received support for
today I stand here before you all
representing my family and my friends
who are currently living at the site
those who have tirelessly given their
time the energy and their resources to
support this campaign a lot of my
friends are out partying or traveling
having families extending their careers
that I’ve had to sacrifice a lot of
those to attend meetings and to fulfill
my obligations to the occupation but I
don’t regret it because I know this
cause is so important not just to me but
to my nieces and nephews to our city
and to Altera many people said I was
young dumb naive and experienced and
couldn’t do anything because I was a
woman but I ignored that and always
thought that no matter how small I am I
can make a difference I’m constantly
asked in this campaign how far will I go
I replied cheekily that I would die for
this land people would laugh but I think
back to Pete Bethune closing TED talk
last year that you haven’t lived until
you found a cause worth dying for
I think I found that cause and I’m
prepared to die for it if I have to my
vision for the land is to return it or
reclaim it for what it was once useful
to grow gardens to feed the growing
population of Auckland we acknowledged
is a housing issue but not at the
sacrifice of the significant landscape
we want to preserve this land for all
New Zealanders to enjoy this struggle is
a struggle for justice I’m calling out
here it’s at New Zealand the government
Auckland Council and Fletcher boarding
limited and their plans to destroy this
landscape which takes away the ability
for our children and the future
generations to connect with it so this
is a call to action
people were welcome to join us in the
campaign to particularly whom Otto
I’m not asking people to die for it to
give up their careers or occupy the land
at small things like giving a thought to
our campaign liking a pile a post on
Facebook writing a letter to your local
MP because we should do it for the sake
of our children our grandchildren for
the environment our heritage and our
history and because the future depends
on it
that I want to share with you all this
reads 2 ponyo Newton and members of the
save our unique landscape campaign in
accordance with the above act and
section you are hereby and Warren are
hereby warned to stay off the
place known as even my atoll Quarry Road
it is an offense punishable by a fine
not exceeding $1000 or imprisonment not
exceeding three months to enter the
above address within two years from the
date you received this warning
this was given to me by Fletcher
boarding limited they tried to trespass
me from ancestral Len Len that was meant
to become a public open space for all
New Zealanders to enjoy not just the 480
million is who can afford to live there
why stand here today and say to
always in on this corridor or the
sweater that we take to Waitangi every
year and it goes yeah Corre Dora Corre
Ramu – Tafoya – katika one not annoy we
will never we will never give up a right
to fight for what’s right
oh no we wanna we wanna know Eric Aaron
iturra tena koutou tena koe tu
tena Tata Tata [Applause]
my life have come together for this
purpose to protect Eva motto even motto
is land that is at the heart of Auckland
New Zealand but as currently the subject
of a political land struggle Here I am
at the age of nine and a time capsule
at school I wrote that I wanted to
become a lawyer to make a difference I
worked hard to achieve that and in the
same year that I graduated and was about
to go into a law practice I discovered
that there were survey pigs on ancestral
land that was due to become public open
space this was a huge concern for us and
so upon investigations we discovered
that there was a housing development
being proposed for this land I went
immediately into beast mode or what we
would call
ktucky mode and quickly I put my law
career on hold and I decided to pursue
justice for this land and fulfill my
responsibilities to the cultural and
heritage landscapes at Yamato
I’ve unknowingly and unexpectedly become
the spokesperson for the soul campaign
that was co-founded by me and my five
cousins and supported by our families
and our community and now we are working
towards the protection and preservation
of ancestral cultural and heritage
landscapes our motto now the photo that
you see here is Hamato it is the oldest
continuously occupied Maori village in
Auckland and arguably the oldest across
the country for over six hundred years
people there have been turning the rocks
arranging and rearranging them to create
stone walls gardens roads houses and
more recently
he bought runways nationally significant
to our nation’s history because it was
here that gardens were intensively
cultivated by Maori that fed the growing
population of Auckland which made it one
of the wealthiest areas in all Tarawa
archaeologists would argue that even
motto is internationally significant
because Oh Tara was the last point of
human migration from Africa and here Eva
motto the landscape speaks to the
earliest human inhabitation and New
Zealand daiva are well respected
archaeologists in New Zealand describes
this area as a sin place a place with a
veil that separates time and space as
transparent with a spiritual and the
physical the past and the present emerge
a sacred place he says Oh wha he tapu
Dave will always make the point that
he’s a scientist and he’s not meant to
feel these sorts of ways he’s been
around the world and worked on many
projects but he says they’re even motto
that’s the only place that he feels that
sort of thinness this is the sort of
significance that we talk about here at
Yamato there were hundreds of acres of
this sort of land all across Auckland
but in the last forty years many of it
has been destroyed and their eerie motto
remains the last remnants of this sort
of landscape and that is why we are
trying to protect it even my atoll was
only five minutes from the Auckland
International Airport and although
thousands of ash drive past there every
day and fly over it few of us have ever
heard about this place situated well
within the boundaries of Vulcan even
motto feels off the beaten track and in
many ways it is this is probably why
even motto has remained largely outside
the consciousness of many New Zealanders
until recently until we developed a
campaign to protect it from development
history on this landscape is not
monumental there’s no fixed beginnings
or endings grand narratives or imposing
structures instead the history there is
fine grained ancestral and deep-rooted
heritage for me as anything that is
valued by communities that speaks to the
past that informs our future hee-hoo
motto is just that for me it is there
that I possessed my greatest sense of
belonging and connection to the
landscapes and to my culture and to my
ancestors for us as Maori this is termed
– danga Weiwei it is there that I feel
this umbilical connection to the land
the mountains that our the Moana because
it is those things that sustain me
physically mentally socially and this
aligns with a holistic worldview a Maori
worldview the narratives of this place
are grafted through tangible remnants of
stone soil and water but the true beauty
of this place lies within the intangible
values they reach back beyond the the
narratives that historians and
archaeologists and heritage
practitioners and lawmakers would
conventionally rely on these intangible
values are the things that create deep
senses of belongings and those are
represented through the stories the
songs and the relationships that people
have with this place the importance of
these intangible values are overlooked
time and time again through our heritage
management of places of importance in
New Zealand this raises the question for
me do we know what’s important about our
heritage in New Zealand for me I don’t
think we do well it’s not balance to say
the least
heritage New Zealand as the agency that
is tasked with looking after our
nation’s heritage but when I look at the
sites protected on its Heritage List
I noticed that over 80% of them are
colonial built structures or colonial
places and then I look at the other 10%
that are specifically a Maori heritage
sites and the other 10% is probably a
mixture of both I ask why is the so
unbalanced our Maori heritage sites not
important to our national heritage if so
why isn’t greater emphasis being placed
on these indigenous sites it seems to me
there as a nation we value some forms of
heritage over others but if heritage is
not simply about those pretty things why
are we having so much trouble listing
and protecting places and landscapes
that are reminders to us of our pre
colonial legacies a closer look at the
evidence shows that there are over 600
churches 340 church buildings protected
on the Heritage List compared to the
hundred and eighty-three sites that are
deemed waahi tapu or waahi tapu
areas what are we saying about our
relationship to the past how is this not
a sign that the current list is needing
a rebalancing and a serious critical
review why is the focus still on built
heritage which is so disproportionately
about colonial history to put this
further into context the cultural
landscape heritage at Yamato is
currently the subject of an appeal and
the Environment Court because the
national agency tasked with looking
after our national places has approved
an application to destroy heritage
features on this land why to make way
for a multi-million dollar housing
complex proposed by Fletcher’s building
limited when preparing to lodge our
appeal to court we uncovered that 95
percent of applications to modify and
destroy archaeological sites are granted
I asked myself how well are we
doing what is important to our nation
and have we got that balance right or is
this more whitespace colonial structural
racism for example here you have the
Civic Theatre built in the late 1920s
for entertainment purposes here you have
Eva motto with the aliens inhabitants of
Otero I lived and thrived for hundreds
of years the demolition of the Civic
Theatre is prohibited but for hamato
heritage new zealand has approved the
destruction of cultural and heritage
sites that are significant to us as
monofin you are a city and as a nation
our places like the Civic Theatre more
important to our national identity than
these ancestral landscapes why is it
there winners colonial heritage there is
a higher threshold for preventing
demolition the key to our national
identity is an outcome of the investment
we make and protecting our heritage
whose identity not just which race but
also which generation consultation with
a diversity of people with a connection
to this land rather than the
self-serving limited group who will
benefit from this development has been a
criticism we have taken to the United
Nations and have received support for
today I stand here before you all
representing my family and my friends
who are currently living at the site
those who have tirelessly given their
time the energy and their resources to
support this campaign a lot of my
friends are out partying or traveling
having families extending their careers
that I’ve had to sacrifice a lot of
those to attend meetings and to fulfill
my obligations to the occupation but I
don’t regret it because I know this
cause is so important not just to me but
to my nieces and nephews to our city
and to Altera many people said I was
young dumb naive and experienced and
couldn’t do anything because I was a
woman but I ignored that and always
thought that no matter how small I am I
can make a difference I’m constantly
asked in this campaign how far will I go
I replied cheekily that I would die for
this land people would laugh but I think
back to Pete Bethune closing TED talk
last year that you haven’t lived until
you found a cause worth dying for
I think I found that cause and I’m
prepared to die for it if I have to my
vision for the land is to return it or
reclaim it for what it was once useful
to grow gardens to feed the growing
population of Auckland we acknowledged
is a housing issue but not at the
sacrifice of the significant landscape
we want to preserve this land for all
New Zealanders to enjoy this struggle is
a struggle for justice I’m calling out
here it’s at New Zealand the government
Auckland Council and Fletcher boarding
limited and their plans to destroy this
landscape which takes away the ability
for our children and the future
generations to connect with it so this
is a call to action
people were welcome to join us in the
campaign to particularly whom Otto
I’m not asking people to die for it to
give up their careers or occupy the land
at small things like giving a thought to
our campaign liking a pile a post on
Facebook writing a letter to your local
MP because we should do it for the sake
of our children our grandchildren for
the environment our heritage and our
history and because the future depends
on it
that I want to share with you all this
reads 2 ponyo Newton and members of the
save our unique landscape campaign in
accordance with the above act and
section you are hereby and Warren are
hereby warned to stay off the
place known as even my atoll Quarry Road
it is an offense punishable by a fine
not exceeding $1000 or imprisonment not
exceeding three months to enter the
above address within two years from the
date you received this warning
this was given to me by Fletcher
boarding limited they tried to trespass
me from ancestral Len Len that was meant
to become a public open space for all
New Zealanders to enjoy not just the 480
million is who can afford to live there
why stand here today and say to
always in on this corridor or the
sweater that we take to Waitangi every
year and it goes yeah Corre Dora Corre
Ramu – Tafoya – katika one not annoy we
will never we will never give up a right
to fight for what’s right
oh no we wanna we wanna know Eric Aaron
iturra tena koutou tena koe tu
tena Tata Tata [Applause]
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