LEGITIMATE USE: Hamilton's Diane Ratana shows the full copy of her Maori Traveller's Permit which she used to change the ownership of her vehicle at Chartwell. Inset: The Maori Traveller's Permit of Hamilton man Kereama Tawha-Paraha.

A Maori sovereignty group insists a Maori Traveller's Permit is legitimate despite one of their members being arrested when he used it in Hamilton on Monday night.

And they say their case has been strengthened by the fact that a NZ Post Shop yesterday accepted the permit as identification when a member changed the ownership of a vehicle.

Members of the Te Akaimapuhia Maori Incorporation, formed about two years ago, deny that the permits are illegal.

One of their members, Wiremu Peihopa, also known as Billy Griffith, was arrested by police on Monday night after producing his Maori Traveller's Permit as his driver's licence. Police say he presented false information to them and will be disqualified from driving.

Fellow members and Fairfield neighbours Kereama Tawha-Paraha and Diane Ratana said Mr Peihopa's arrest was nothing short of harassment and they deny they're activists.

"We have been harassed by them many times," Mrs Ratana said. "The whole group do because of us stating who we are. We should be free to travel on this land because we are Maori.

"These things got taken away from us a long time ago by the white settlers."

Neighbour Patsy Hynes said Mr Peihopa simply used Wiremu as the Maori equivalent of his first name and was using his mother's name instead of his father's name, Griffith.

Mr Tawha-Paraha, who has also been arrested for producing his traveller's permit, disputed police views the permits were illegal and would support Mr Peihopa.

The incorporation operated under the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993, which it believed authorised it to create laws, statutes, regulations or place limitations on existing laws within its own native districts.

Mrs Ratana said their case was further cemented when she used her permit to change the ownership of her vehicle at the Chartwell NZ Post shop yesterday. She said the attendant checked with management, who accepted it as a valid identification.

Police said the licences were illegal and warned against their use.

"People knowingly using these documents need to realise they face serious consequences while people that are duped into paying for passports, residency permits or driver's licences have been taken advantage of and should contact police," Senior Sergeant Kent Holdsworth said.