A generational divide is at the heart of the ongoing battle to stop a housing development at Ihumātao.

The protests are being lead by mana whenua Pania Newton and her cousins, who have been pushing for the land - owned by Fletcher Building - to be returned to iwi, 160 years after it was first confiscated by the Crown.

But local kaumātua Te Warena Taua from Te Kawerau a Maki, who gave his blessing for the housing development to go forward, said Ms Newton and her cousins were disrespecting their elders by not moving on from the site.

RNZ's Te Manu Korihi leader and Māori Strategy Manager Shannon Haunui-Thompson is in RNZ's Auckland studio to explain the situation.