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Source: ONE News -
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A row is brewing in Waitangi between Maori at Te Tii Marae and big business over the Waitangi River mouth.
Debate is swirling around whether the river mouth is a place for big tourist ships to park, or somewhere for locals to swim and fish.
As dozens of tourists disembark at the jetty to take in the historic surroundings, not far away locals go on with their everyday lives.
But life's no beach for local Maori who believe the area is turning into a polluted mess.
"All rubbish in now in the water and our children can't swim because of pollution that's coming off the boats and up river," says Kingi Taurua from Te Tii Marae.
But the boats are big business with 35 cruise ships a year bringing around 60,000 passengers. That equates to $5 million for Paihia's tourism industry.
"It would be a calamity if for some reason on the day cruise ships came, we couldn't have access to that facility...that would do damage to New Zealand as a tourist destination," says Tony Norman from Far North Holdings - the commercial arm of the local council.
Far North Holdings has won a long court battle for exclusive access to dock the cruise ships - a decision that has got locals fuming.
The river sits in front of historic Te Tii Marae but despite the proximity to the dock, Maori say they have not been consulted. Far North Holdings disagrees and says there is no pollution problem.
"It's a constant process of goalposts being moved and nothing we offer is good enough," Norman says.
But Taurua says they are not getting any benefit.
"This is our land, this is our water, this is our sea and this is all of our taonga, but we are...getting nothing," he says.
