Tangata Whenua Response To “stop Co-governance Tour” In The Hawke’s Bay

Tuesday, 25 July 2023, 5:45 pm
Press Release: NGATI KAHUNGUNU IWI INCORPORATED

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Last night, on the 24th of July, Julian Batchelor hosted an event as part of his “stop co-governance tour” in Hastings. This event went ahead, despite numerous venue cancellations, and the violence incited at his event hosted in Palmerston North the previous night.

Our iwi, and many concerned tauiwi, arrived en masse to respectfully protest the event. Some were able to enter the venue, and others remained outside. Throughout the event, people inside the venue attempted to engage in open debate, and challenge some of the dangerous mistruths shared. These people were removed from the venue by police, and some trespassed, often at the request of Julian. Ultimately, the event was stopped early, as frustrations at how it was managed boiled over, and police had no choice left but to make a determination that it was unsafe to continue.

Let me be clear at the outset - we do not oppose the right of people to freely share their views in our region, regardless of whether we agree with those or not, but we are opposed to the right of freedom of speech being used as a guise to promote hate and discrimination. When many of our people still exist at the bottom end of every socioeconomic indicator in our region, and we are working as hard as we can to change that, it is too much to ask of us to stand by as spectators while falsehoods are openly shared about us in our own home. The debate may be academic for some, but for most of us, it is an attack on our identity, on our fight to improve the wellbeing of those in our families and communities.

I have no doubt that people in our region, and across all of Aotearoa, have concerns and a genuine desire to better understand co-governance and partnership, and conversation should be encouraged. These conversations, however, should happen in a way that is open, transparent, and respectful; they should aim to uphold the mana of everyone involved, regardless of their views, in a genuine attempt to better understand each other.

I cannot help but share my disappointment at the police approach on the ground last night. It is clear that the conversation was not going to occur without erupting into violence and it should have been stopped earlier. I accept that the police have a role to play in enabling free speech to occur in a peaceful way. But I do not accept that the use of police resource as private security for the event is in any way in keeping with that role. I hope that the police can appreciate the optics of them removing people who disagreed with the tour promoter’s views from the venue in the same way that we have. For our people there, it is hard not to see the police as having picked sides in the protection that they offered to one group in that debate and their right to freedom of speech, at the expense of others having a right to freely share their opposing views. Both sides were equally tense, and yet only one side was truly policed last night. This cannot be the way that police handle these events moving forward.

My greatest concern is how this conversation is currently being enabled to take place. In the dark. Down dimly lit alleyways. In secret rooms with covered windows and a very clear view on who is allowed to participate and who is not. This is a breeding ground for division, hate and the incitement of violence. It is the antithesis of what we are working for here in our region - unity, with a belief that partnership and respect for one another is a way that all can prosper here. More than ever, in the wake of the tragic cyclone, and the havoc it has wrecked on our homes, our communities, and our wellbeing, this must be our focus.

I hope that the institutions and communities in our region can also see the importance of this, and that we all work hard to bring this conversation into the light, as we look for a pathway forward that brings us closer together, not further apart.

Ngāti Kahungunu kia ū, kia ita, kia rangatira.

Bayden Barber,
Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated Chairman

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