Niu FM radio personality Bailey Palala was seen attending the Destiny Church protests at the Te Atatū Community Centre on Saturday. Photo / Michel Mulipola
Niu FM radio personality Bailey Palala was seen attending the Destiny Church protests at the Te Atatū Community Centre on Saturday. Photo / Michel Mulipola
Library staff and organisers, fearing for their safety, were forced to barricade themselves and the children attending the science show inside the venue. Meanwhile, police are investigating allegations of assault after a teenage girl suffered concussion during the fracas.
Video circulating on social media appears to show Niu FM’s Bailey Palala among a group of Destiny Church protesters gathered outside the Auckland library on Saturday.
The radio personality can be seen wearing a “Real Men” shirt and holding an infant over his shoulder as he chats with demonstrators, before entering the building as part of the second wave of protesters.
Niu FM radio personality Bailey Palala could be seen holding a toddler on his shoulder amid Destiny Church protests at the Te Atatū Community Centre on Saturday.
Michel Mulipola, an illustrator and popular social media personality under the username @bloodysamoan, posted a series of videos showing Palala’s involvement in the protests.
“He is an accomplice in the assault and siege of the Te Atatū library, which has resulted in a 16-year-old with a concussion and a 20-year-old with bruised ribs,” Mulipola said.
He claimed every person that “entered that building against the wishes of the kaitiaki of Te Atatū library ... is an accomplice in the harm and the violence in the assault that occurred”.
Mulipola claimed a friend contacted the chief executive of Pacific Media Network, which owns Niu FM, and that he “would be talking to” Palala.
Palala is a group leader at the Destiny Church-affiliated group The Radical Youth, with its social media page posting photos of him baptising teenagers on Friday.
Palala spent five years at Mai FM before announcing his move to Niu FM in November. He did not appear on Niu FM’s The Morning Shack today, where he works as a producer.
His Instagram, Facebook and TikTok accounts have also been deactivated.
Pacific Media Network chief executive Don Mann told the Herald he was aware of public comments — including those from prominent members of the Pacific community — about the attendance of one of the station’s staff members at the protest.
Palala was seen attending the Destiny Church protests at the Te Atatū Community Centre on Saturday. Photo / Michel Mulipola
“There is an internal process currently in place. I can’t comment further given the personal contractual nature of the matter in hand between the network and the employee,” Mann said.
Former MP Tau Henare told the Herald if the reports were true, Palala “should lose his job”.
Niu FM is a Government-funded radio station and comment has been sought from Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith.
‘Crossed a line’: Police investigate allegations of assault
Inspector Simon Walker, acting Waitematā police district commander, said they were investigating allegations of assault during the Te Atatū incident.
“Police strongly condemn the actions of [the] group. The group’s actions caused considerable distress and concern among tamariki, library staff and visitors.
“This protest crossed a line. Freedom of speech and the right to protest are fundamental principles of a free and democratic society under the rule of law, but nobody, especially children, should ever be made to feel unsafe.”
Auckland Council community director, Rachel Kelleher, said it was working closely with police as part of the investigation into Saturday’s incident.
“While it is ongoing, we have advised kaimahi if they were assaulted, that they can contact the police directly, and encourage members of the public to do the same.”
*An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified an individual. The story has been updated for accuracy.
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