Waitangi Day: Big turnout at Dunedin protest

More than a thousand demonstrators gathered in Dunedin to march from Queens Gardens to the Octagon this morning in protest of government plans that impact Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi.

A wide range of people joined to support the city's latest Toitū te Tiriti protest today.

The protest consisted of a march through town, ending at the Octagon, where there would be kōrero (speeches), waiata (songs) and other formalities.

Demonstrators arriving at the Octagon. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON

The marchers listened to speeches in the Octagon where the Waitangi Day Whānau Festival is taking place.

Waitangi Day, New Zealand's national day and a public holiday, is being marked throughout the country today.

Protesters march up Cumberland St. PHOTO: DEBBIE PORTEOUS

Māori are upset at a plan by the centre-right coalition made up of National, New Zealand First and Act, to undo policies of previous governments - particularly those promoting the official use of the Māori language and seeking to enhance Indigenous living standards and rights.

The government has also said it will introduce, but is not committed to passing, a bill that would reinterpret the Treaty of Waitangi, spearheaded by the Act party.