ARTICLE AD BOX
"After a person tragically died while clearing floodwaters near Nelson, iwi leaders from Te Tauihu responded not with practical safety measures, but with a sweeping rāhui that now bans seafood gathering, swimming, and even stepping near water from the White Bluffs in the east to Kahurangi Point in the west. This covers every beach, river mouth and floodwater zone across the top of the South Island. All of it now spiritually off-limits.
"A death, as sad as it is, does not justify holding the general public hostage under spiritual rules they did not ask for and may not believe in. This rāhui is a cultural imposition masquerading as community safety. It’s not based on science. It’s not enforced through law. It’s a belief system being forced upon every resident, tourist, fisherman, swimmer and beachgoer in the region. Why aren’t the iwi leaders placing rāhuis on the streets where Māori kids are being murdered or where people die from drink driving?
"The Iwi Emergency Management Rōpū, working inside the official Nelson/Tasman Emergency Operations Centre, declared the rāhui would stay in place 'as long as te Taiao dictates.' That’s not an end date. That’s a mystic shrug."
~ Matua Kahurangi from his post 'No swimming, no fishing, no voice'
English (US) ·