Group plans to occupy Christchurch pier in foreshore legislation protest | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

A Maori group plans to occupy the New Brighton pier in Christchurch on Friday to protest against the Government's foreshore and seabed legislation.

Police and the Christchurch City Council are aware of the occupation but at this stage are taking a low-key approach.

The Christchurch-based group, Te Mangoroa, has about 50 members, both Maori and European and was set up in response to the foreshore and seabed issue.

Spokesman Malcolm Mulholland said he expected most members would take part in the occupation, which will start at 4.30am on Friday.

Mulholland said the public would not be stopped from using the pier as long as they abided by rules the group would put in place

"No alcohol or drugs or smoking and everyone has to be welcomed onto the pier by way of a powhiri," he said.

However, the New Brighton Pier and Foreshore Society is disappointed that the pier is being used for political means.

Chairman Alan Cockburn said he was sad that a community asset was to be used in such a way.

"And I doubt any of these people would have contributed any help in raising money for the pier," he said.

"A lot of people put years of work into fundraising to build it and I don't think they'd be happy for it to be used that way," he said.

But Cockburn said that if the occupation went ahead he hoped that the public would still have access.

Sergeant Tony Tully, of the Papanui Police, said police were aware of the planned occupation and had held discussions with the organisers.

He said police had been assured the occupation would be a peaceful one.

"At this point we will adopt a low key approach and just observe what's going on," he said.

"They have agreed to a code of conduct and if there's a breach then the police will look at it again. But at this point we're adopting a low key approach," he said.

Christchurch's deputy mayor Carole Evans said she had no problem with people expressing their views and protesting against decisions made by the government.

However, she would be concerned if the occupation of the pier prevented other people from exercising their right to go onto the pier at the same time.

"People use the pier for their morning walks and for fishing and I think they should be able to do that without any fear of being told to remove themselves," she said.

Christchurch City Council spokesman Bryn Somerville said: "We'll wait to see what form any protest action takes before deciding how we should respond."

"In general, though, the council understands that individuals and groups will sometimes seek to create a bit of a spectacle as part of having their say on an issue and we'd hope that anyone in this position would also consider other people's interests and safety," he said.

Mulholland said he did not know how long the occupation would last for.

"It depends on how long it takes us to achieve our objectives, which is to raise awareness of the foreshore and seabed legislation, issue a challenge to the rest of the country to arrange similar protests and to get Mahara Okeroa (Te Tai Tonga MP) to resign because he voted for this legislation," he said.

Mulholland said even though the legislation had been passed by the government the issue was not "dead and buried".

"This is just the beginning of a fight and it's a fight the government will not win."

Mulholland said local Maori had given their support to the occupation.