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The Social Justice Commission of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa & Polynesia

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May: The Maori Land Occupation of Bastion Point

By / 31 December 2006

I was swotting for exams on the third floor of the University Library when I saw the helicopters hovering over Bastion Point. Later that night I watched the television footage. I was cynical enough to disbelieve the Government’s justification for the eviction and was amazed at the enormous number of police personnel. I was intrigued though by the commitment of both Maori and Pakeha to their makeshift accommodation, and didn’t really understand what it all meant.

Two years later I stood on Bastion Point with a group of theological students who had joined the protest. I now knew a little more history than before, and had caught a whiff of that foul odour called injustice. But mainly I had come because people I respected were there. People like Harvey Ruru, Rob Ritchie, and Peter Charlton-Jones. I can’t remember much more about that particular protest, but I was glad that someone big like Harvey was there, so I could hide behind him when the cops came!

I was glad too that the cross was there. I suppose some might think that the cross symbolized Christian triumphalism, but it seemed to me that there, at the Point, it was right at home.

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About us

This site is run by the Social Justice Commission of the Anglican Church.

We seek to nurture justice spirituality and imagination, and engage in advocacy in all areas of life, overcoming poverty and transforming violence.

We encourage people to think and live “justly”, and emphasise debate and action on local, national and global issues.

Although we are Anglican, our vision isn’t so much about being Anglican. It’s about living justly. Justice is about how you live your life, and being just where we are. Working together, we can all flourish.

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