Steven Joyce took a hit for his boss Prime Minister John Key today, by becoming the latest in a long line of visitors who have had Waitangi Day projectiles thrown at them.

Of course John Key has decided not to go to Waitangi. Instead he's going to the nines.

Steven Joyce was hit with a flying sex toy, with the protester yelling "that's for raping our country's sovereignty".

Joyce was standing in for the Prime Minister, becoming subject of the latest Waitangi protest incident.

A t-shirt was thrown at the Queen at Waitangi, and mud at Don Brash. Now this.

National MPs refused to go onto Te Tii Marae after the Prime Minister pulled out but were attending a meeting nearby with iwi chiefs.

"We shouldn't underestimate the fact that people are getting hot under the collar about the TPP," says Labour leader Andrew Little.

Newshub has learned from police sources that even if the Prime Minister didn't pull out, it may have been called off anyway because his safety could not be guaranteed.

That's because there are only two roads in and out of the lower marae, and the road-blocking tactics used in the Auckland TPP protest could have been used to trap him there.

Labour did show up, but were made to wait for an hour in the rain before coming on.

Mr Little went in and did talk politics, which the Prime Minister was not allowed to do.

Waitangi - without the Prime Minister, but not without incident.

Newshub.