Wellington mana whenua say a ceremony this morning reopening the walkways at Parliament grounds is about healing after the occupation and riot there earlier this month.
Fences remain around Parliament's lawn as it regrows and the playground is still closed off. Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
Representatives of Parliament, Te Ātiawa Taranaki Whānui, Kiingitanga, and the local community gathered at Parliament this morning for Te Whakapiki Mōuri.
Taranaki Whānui Chair Kara Puketapu-Dentice said the ceremony was to restore the lifeforce of the area.
"Te Whakapiki Mōuri is about awakening the spirit of this whenua, it is about restoring the mana of these ancestral lands, it is about healing, it is about hope.
"Not just here in Wellington, but in all our communities across the motu."
The process was about understanding the pain and anguish among some whanau, and the hope to move from disconnection to re-connection, he said.
Speaker Trevor Mallard described the event as a "partial reopening", with the lawn and playground - which was set on fire - having been fenced off and the grass dug up, with piles of earth and diggers moving about this morning.
Senior politicians and Te Ati Awa representatives attend a ceremony marking the reopening of Parliament grounds after the occupation by protesters. Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
A crisp, cool wind blew on the peaceful scene, a far cry from the violence and anger as the protesters and police fought on the final day of the more than two week occupation.
Hundreds of people were arrested during the occupation, and both protesters and police were injured in the final clashes where people hurled paving stones at police in riot gear.
Fires were set in tents and the Parliament playground was damaged, while gas bottles exploded in the melee.
Deputy Prime Minster and Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson described the anti-mandate occupation as the toughest time of his career.
It was especially difficult for the local community and for those who worked at Parliament, he said.
"What we saw out here was a huge challenge to a lot of the things we hold dear and that we believe in."
The hardest thing he saw during the occupation was school children having to be escorted to school by security guards because of abuse they received from protesters.
Staff at a nearby supermarket, essential workers who worked hard during the pandemic to keep kai available for all New Zealanders, were abused by protesters while trying to uphold the health measures that have kept people safe, he said.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the riot was a significant day in the history of New Zealand policing, and the hardest period in his time as commissioner so far.
"Those thing were quite shocking and confronting for all of us, I think to be able to come back here in a peaceful way, acknowledge what has happened and more forward is an important thing."
Coster said some officers were still in rehabilitation for injuries sustained during the riot.
Mallard said he was proud that Parliament would remain one of the few Parliament precincts in the world which was publicly accessible.
"I know Members of Parliament are determined for people to be able to come in here, for Wellingtonians to be able to use this place as a thoroughfare, to sit down down and talk, to deliver their petitions, to eat their lunch, to play with their children, and to hold their protests in an appropriate way."
But he hinted at changes to the way the grounds would be managed to reduce the chance of another occupation.
Another opening ceremony could possible be held about the time of Matariki, once remedial work was done, he said.
