Ihumātao protests: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern rules out visiting site before Thursday

Finding a resolution to the occupation at Ihumātao will be high on the agenda during a private meeting between the Prime Minister and the Māori King on Tuesday.

King Tuheitia has previously offered to act as an intermediary in the Ihumātao dispute.

The Prime Minister says she's eager to hear his views but is ruling out visiting the site before Thursday - the deadline protestors have set, before they will march to her Auckland office.

Protesters last week launched a petition calling for Ardern to come and see what they're fighting for, gaining more than 6000 signatures in the first few hours. 

Ardern was first invited to visit the site almost four-weeks-ago, where hundreds of people have been standing firm since receiving an eviction notice.

"If Jacinda doesn't take up our invitation to come to Ihumātao, then we have no other option but to march to her office to hand-deliver our petition," protest leader Pania Newton told reporters last Thursday.

Newshub.