New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has been bustled into a car after a welcome onto the Te Tii Marae traditional meeting place in the Bay of Islands turned ugly on Sunday.

A group of 20 protesters holding the Maori flag and signs saying "Stop Deep Sea Drilling" charged towards Mr Key when he arrived but were held back by Maori wardens.

They did not get close to Mr Key. A cameraman suffered a gash to his forehead during the scuffle.

The welcome continued but speeches were drowned out by protesters. Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples was called "Mr Key's nigger" and protesters yelled "Aotearoa is not for sale".

Mr Key cut short a speech and left the marae.

The marae and treaty grounds at Waitangi were the site of major protests in earlier years.

Controversy over asset sales and job cuts at Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry of Maori Development, have raised tensions ahead of the annual event at the marae.

Mana Party leader Hone Harawira told NZ Newswire earlier he hoped Mr Key got the message that Maori would not budge when it came to treaty obligations by the Crown or he would "have a fight on his hands".

Mr Key planned to raise the asset sales issue with Maori leaders on the marae.

Signed in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand's founding document which established British law while at the same time guaranteeing Maori authority over their land and culture.