Police are investigating after a Māori woman says she was racially abused and physically assaulted while she was out for a walk in Auckland.
Ngahina Hohaia told TVNZ1's Te Karere she was visiting Owairaka in Mount Albert for a walk last week when she saw a Pākehā woman and her dog exit a tent being used for the Honour the Maunga protest group.
The group has occupied the mountain since November to protest the removal of 345 adult trees proposed by the council to restore native species.
Hohaia says she noticed the dog was offleash and was walking in front of her car.
"I made the point of saying to her when I drove into the carpark. 'You need to keep a hold of your dog,'" she said.
"Her reply to me was, 'Shut up you black bitch, you disgraceful idiots who go around with those mokos on your face.'"
Hohaia says she got her phone out to film the woman who then rushed her and hit her.
"I was surprised at that there was no hesitation from her in the way she treated me and how easily she said those things and how easily those actions came from her."
The Honour the Maunga Group say the woman who is alleged to have assaulted Hohaia has signed one of their petitions but say she is not part of their group and they do not know her.
Police have asked the public not to take matters into their own hands as they investigate the incident.
