“Words” spoken between Crown/Maori Relations Minister Kelvin Davis, Finance Minister Grant Robertson, and Environment Minister David Parker on Monday prompted Stuff reporter Jo Moir to surmise on how the battle lines are drawn between coalition partners on water rights.

Earlier this month a public wharf on Matakana Island, off the Tauranga Coast, was blockaded with barbed wire and fence posts. A sign placed at the front of the Panepane wharf read, “This is the tribal boundary of Tauwhao, Te Ngare, Tamawhariua, Tauairi, and Tuwhiwhia.” It was in the name of “Bob Rolleston, Kaumatua, Hapu Elder”. The sign said, “Bugga Off.”