Northern Auckland border protesters ‘particularly dangerous’

Ngāti Whātua kaitiaki remain in bolstered numbers at the border between Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Tai Tokerau to stop protesters getting through, RNZ reports, turning around about 50 people from anti-vax and anti-lockdown groups in one morning. But the rūnanga would much rather be vaccinating whānau than having to protect them from rule-breakers, said Chief operating officer Antony Thompson (Ngāti Whātua). The chair of Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-O-Ngāpuhi Wane Wharerau said, “It is disappointing that organisers are using He Whakaputanga, or the Declaration of Independence, as a means to bring attention to their cause.”