of how the white settlers do not understand or respect Maori culture. He also thinks back to how Maori land has been taken and abused by these settlers, including a graveyard that was bulldozed. Throughout his thoughts, the old man repeats that "people have to have homes" as he tries to accept the changes he sees. He also thinks he sees his son George in the crowd. We later learn that George ran away from home and joined a gang.

When he arrives at the office, we learn that he is petitioning for his family's land to be subdivided between his nieces and nephews so they can build homes there. This explains his earlier fixation on people having homes. The man explains that this is not possible and shows him the plans for the redevelopment of his family land. They plan on turning his land into a parking lot. The old man points out that his family's land is incredibly fertile and should not be wasted. The land where the developers plan to build houses is all rock and cannot grow anything. However, they do not listen to him and try to convince him his family will receive a fair sum for their land. The old man becomes irate and kicks the representative's desk, cracking its veneer. He is then rushed out of the office.

The man makes his way home the same way he arrived, wrestling with why his family cannot have access to their own land. Later that night he breaks the bad news to his family and tells them that when he dies he wants to be cremated, because "it's not safe in the ground." This is a call back to his memory of his ancestor's graveyard being bulldozed. The old man has come to learn that nothing belonging to Maori people is safe from redevelopment by white New Zealanders.