Some of those kicked out of a long-standing occupation of Māhanga Bay in Wellington say they are homeless after today.
Police vehicles block access to the occupation site at Māhanga Bay in Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The site sits at the peak of a rugged stretch of coast and some of the 30 to 50 people who have been living there long-term came from the Parliament protests in February.
Trespass notices were issued in May on behalf of NIWA and LINZ, who manage the Crown-owned land.
Police conducted an operation this morning, cordoning off the road around to the bay and getting the remaining group of about 15 to move on.
Most of the occupiers did so without incident, but six people were arrested - four for trespass, one for obstruction, and one on a warrant.
One of the occupants, Mike, said it came as a surprise today.
"I dropped my mate off on the bus and I saw a whole heap of cops driving through town and I said to my mate, I made a little joke going 'oh imagine if they were going out to home?' and then... yeah came out here and this is happening."
Mike said he was now homeless again for the third time this year.
"I'm pretty gutted, really gutted you know I can't be in there [inside the cordon] helping my whānau out. I know there's a lot of elderly in there that need help."
Mike said many of the occupiers had nothing to do with the Parliament protest and were there to demand the land be given back to Māori.
The group have been occupying the site, albeit in a smaller capacity, since before February.
Some of the occupiers at the camp in March. Photo: RNZ
There have been ecological concerns for the occupation since its numbers grew following the Parliament protests.
Former Māhanga Bay occupant Cole spent the last three months on the site.
He said the vibe got "weirder this week" and he was glad it was over.
"I feel actually quite satisfied to be honest and the reason being is, at the end of the day, the kaupapa wasn't set right after all the hara that was set on that whenua... you close it down," Cole said this morning.
"After you have a hara, you have the ara - which is the pathway towards restitution... drinking, smoking, drugs, all that s**t, that's not part of it."
Cole said he tried to liaise with local iwi, police and other community leaders "to help get this kaupapa to a place where it's tika, it's correct".
"But obviously the people in there who are now no longer there, didn't want to go that path - they wanted to go the 'my way or the highway type' and now it's closed down," Cole said.
Wellington City Council has been working with police and support services to help those displaced today to find temporary housing or help to return home.
Those support services include the Ministry of Social Development, DCM, Wellington City Mission, Kahungunu Whānau Services and Tu Ora Health.
Council spokesperson Richard McLean said council had been steadily and quietly working with the occupants for some time to provide relocation options.
A 'big job' to clean up site
Police blocked access to Māhanga Bay for most of the day, though transport vans and a digger were seen going through the cordon.
Once the occupiers were cleared out, work began to demolish their illegal structures.
The council has also been assisting police, NIWA and Land Information NZ - who manage the land - in the clean-up.
By Thursday evening, the cordons were still in place and police said work was likely to continue tomorrow.
McLean said it was a big job.
"There were some substantial structures built on a number of sites in the bay.
"There's quite a bit of building materials that would have been difficult for the occupants to remove so that's the kind of stuff that's been taken off site."
It is understood a number of vehicles remain on the site.
Some of the vehicles that were used to block access to the site today. Photo: RNZ
Locals 'intimidated'
McLean said that for some time the occupation has "annoyed and intimidated" people who live nearby or visit the area.
When the site was at its largest, soon after the February Parliament protests, residents had said the public road had felt unwelcoming.
One Miramar local, who did not want to be named, told RNZ he has avoided the lookout at the top of the peninsula for months.
"You feel intimidated... I've taken lots of visitors there [previously] and I've contemplated taking my kids in the last few months and I've thought twice about it," he said.