Pee Kay
No Minister
In late October I posted an article about Northland iwi, Ngātiwai, landing on one of the strictly protected Poor Knights Islands, raising a flag and concreting in a carved pou in protest at the amendment to the Marine and Coastal Area Act.
This blatant act of law breaking incensed me to the extent I lodged an Official Information Act request with the Department of Conservation.
This is the response I received from DOC:
Tēnā koe,
Thank you for your request to the Department of Conservation (DOC), received on 09 November 2025, in which you asked for the following information in respect to the recent landing by Ngātiwai on the Poor Knights Islands:
- Have the Department of Conservation made any attempt to contact the offenders?
- If yes, when was the contact made?
- If no, please advise why not.
- Has the Pou erected by the offenders been removed?
- Has the seacraft used to ferry the offenders to the Poor Knights Islands been seized?
- Do the Department of Conservation intend laying any charges against the offenders?
We have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA).
The islands hold high cultural significance for Ngātiwai, and DOC maintains a long-standing mutual commitment with Ngātiwai trust to protect and conserve all islands within their rohe.
Ngātiwai landed on Aorangi Island, part of the Poor Knights’ Islands Nature Reserve, as a form of protest of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Amendment Bill.
While we were aware of the landing in advance, DOC did not authorise the landing or the installation of a Pou.
Your questions and our responses are listed below:
- Have the Department of Conservation made any attempt to contact the offenders?
Yes.
- If yes, when was the contact made?
The Department contacted Ngātiwai between 23 October 2025 and 10 November 2025.
3. If no, please advise why not?
As above, we can confirm that contact was made with Ngātiwai.
4. Has the Pou erected by the offenders been removed?
Yes, the Pou has been removed from the island.
5. Has the seacraft used to ferry the offenders to the Poor Knights been seized?
No, the vessel has not been seized.
6. Do the Department of Conservation intend laying charges against the offenders?
No. Prior to the landing, Ngātiwai agreed for DOC to carry out biosecurity measures to mitigate against biosecurity risks including using DOC-provided pest detection dogs and installing traps on their vessels. Following the landing, DOC conducted biosecurity checks on the island, and no pests were found.
Considering these circumstances, DOC has decided not to pursue enforcement action for the unauthorised landing.
Are you like me, amazed and flabbergasted that DOC actually sanctioned an illegal landing on one of the islands of a fully protected nature and marine reserve?
Why would they do that? Are they essentially sympathetic towards Ngātiwai’s opposition to the amendment of the Marine and Coastal Area Act?
The Poor Knights Islands are a fully protected nature and marine reserve and it is illegal to land there without a DOC issued permit and those permits are usually only issued for scientific purposes.
Under the Reserves Act 1977 “wilfully digging the sod” or “erecting any sign, hoarding or apparatus” on a nature reserve is illegal, as is trespassing “with any vehicle or boat or aircraft or hovercraft”.
The maximum penalty for an individual is a two-year jail term or a fine or $100,000, while the maximum fine for a company is $200,000.
Ngātiwai did more than digging the sod: actually erecting a pou (post or pillar) and concreting it into the ground!
Do you like me think that Ngātiwai are ‘taking the p**s’, deliberately flouting the law and raising the middle finger to the rest of the country?
Do you like me think like me that DOC are exhibiting an ethnic bias by not pursuing enforcement?
DOC actually knew beforehand that Ngātiwai were planning to land on the island, that they actually knew beforehand that Ngātiwai were undertaking this illegal landing as a protest beggars belief.
The fact that DOC did not authorise the illegal landing, the fact that Ngātiwai, upon landing erected a pou and yet “DOC has decided not to pursue enforcement action for the unauthorised landing” can only be described as a dereliction of duty by DOC.
Did DOC ever stop to consider their lack of action only signifies to Ngātiwai, or any other party, illegal landings on the islands of the Poor Knights group will not result in any enforcement action?
How can DOC ever hope to bring a successful prosecution for landing on or fishing in a fully protected nature and marine reserve in the future?
The cynic in me cannot help but speculate that this was not the first time Ngātiwai have landed illegally on a Poor Knights island. The reason for my conjecture being that the Poor Knights are the world’s only breeding ground for Buller’s Shearwater. Buller’s Shearwater are better known as “mutton birds” and I’m sure Ngātiwai are no different to any other tribe in considering “mutton birds” chicks a delicacy.
The illegal landing by Ngātiwai is a blatant act of breaking the law, a blatant act that DOC had prior knowledge of – a blatant act that has been condoned by DOC and is going to go unpunished – is unacceptable and maybe even offensive to law abiding citizens.
In my post of late October I asked – “What will it take for messers Luxon, Potaka, Mitchell and Goldsmith to find the courage to protect the rule of law!” “Will they turn a blind eye to the blatant act of defiance?”
It looks very much like everyone who should be prosecuting this blatant act of law breaking, DOC, Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka, Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith and throw Chris Luxon into the mix, who as their boss, should be kicking their butts to make an example of these lawbreakers, are all looking the other way.
As far as the government is concerned, it is a case of hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil.
And that is wilful ignorance of wrongdoing.
TO BE CONTINUED.
This article was originally published by No Minister.
