Shearer escorted onto marae without fuss

Labour Party leader David Shearer has been brought on the Te Tii Marae in Waitangi without fuss.

The Prime Minister's welcome earlier was delayed by arguments over who would escort him onto the marae.

There was no drama as David Shearer was brought onto Te Tii Marae.

The Labour Party leader was escorted by Titewhai Harawira but no other Ngapuhi kuia joined them this time round.

The number of Labour Party MPs behind him was double the number of National Party representatives.

Shane Jones responded to the welcome on behalf of the party.

Earlier, after a 40 minute stand off, John Key was eventually led on by Titewhai Harawira and a few other women.

John Key says once he was on the marae, he was confronted by a number of issues such as water rights, but it was relatively peaceful.

He had a clear message for the local iwi, that it needs to think about how this all looks to the public.

"It's an important part of the engagement of dialogue between the Crown and Maori. If you want to have a sensible discussion, let's do that. But if you want to let a bunch of thugs jump around with bull horns then we're not going to go anywhere, are we?"

Photo: Philippa Ormrod