Tens of thousands of New Zealanders are expected to march onto Parliament’s grounds on Tuesday to vociferously protest the coalition Government’s policies towards Māori, including the Treaty Principles Bill.
There will be a massive security presence on the parliamentary precinct for what is expected to be one of the largest protests to make a stand in front of the Beehive in recent years.
The Police Minister says officers have the resources to respond to any eventuality, and Parliament’s communications team on Monday told staff police have a “significant operation under way”.
Opposition MPs are preparing to join the hīkoi group and then make speeches once they arrive at Parliament at around midday, while some National MPs will also be available to meet the group.
Act leader David Seymour, the minister behind the contentious legislation, will wait until closer to the hīkoi arriving before deciding about whether to front up. One of the organisers of the protest previously said they had no interest in meeting with Seymour.
“I am in two minds,” Seymour said on Monday. “Let’s see what the vibe of it is and if there is an invitation from the organisers.”
“I think if I walk out there and they don’t want to give me a chance to speak, and so on, you sort of wonder what you are doing there.”
But Seymour, who has said the legislation was important in generating a national conversation about the Treaty’s place in our constitutional arrangements, said he would welcome the opportunity to speak, in principle.
His Treaty Principles Bill, which seeks to clarify the principles so their meaning in legislation can be clearly interpreted, passed its first reading last week with support of the governing parties. It’s likely to die, though, at second reading when National and NZ First plan to pull their backing.
That legislation has been described as divisive by Opposition MPs and members of the hīkoi and resulted in significant criticism from the likes of the Waitangi Tribunal and a large collective of King’s Counsel.
The first reading last week ended with Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke instigating a haka. It’s become a viral moment, seen hundreds of millions of times internationally, and the result of debate at Parliament over its appropriateness.
It’s unclear at this point how the Government will respond to the protest, including if any ministers will either speak at the event or meet privately with a delegation.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said on Monday the coalition “has a plan around making sure we have meaningful engagement” with the hīkoi.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday night said a “small delegation of National MPs will be available to meet the hikoi tomorrow”.
”The Prime Minister is still considering options to engage.”
Luxon previously said he was open to meeting with a delegation from the hīkoi.
Labour’s Chris Hipkins said members of his party would join the march as it moves from Waitangi Park in central Wellington to Parliament. The party rescheduled its usual Tuesday caucus meeting to Monday night so MPs were available.
Hipkins expected a “very diverse” crowd “expressing their disappointment in the path that this Government has chosen”.
“It is a path that is designed to divide the country. It’s a path that is playing to prejudice. It’s a path that is designed to whip up fear, anger and resentment.”
However, he couldn’t commit to speaking at the Parliament event, saying it’s ultimately up to the organisers to determine who gives speeches.
Te Pāti Māori MPs have been part of the hīkoi since it began. One of the key figures in the Toitū Te Tiriti group that organised the protest is Eru Kapa-Kingi, son of Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and someone who works for the party.
“To be honest, there is probably a lot inside Toitū Te Tiriti movement who are related to us, working for us, working at the marae,” said co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
“The reality is, this is something we have, by rights, an ability to do, which is to defend what we believe in. We believe that we should be able to be Māori, we believe we should be able to have equal rights to be indigenous, and everyone should be living equally with honour and peace, but not at the cost of us having to defend our rights to be indigenous.”
Ngarewa-Packer said she had seen a programme of Tuesday’s event and Seymour’s name wasn’t on it.
“It’s not my place to say whether he is welcome or not, I think he has had his time to speak,” she said, referring to Seymour’s opportunity to explain the Treaty Principles Bill in Parliament last week.
Green MPs will also be among the hīkoi. The party’s justice spokeswoman Tamatha Paul is expected to speak at Parliament.
Also in attendance will be Māori Queen Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō. Kiingitanga spokesman Ngira Simmonds said she had a “message of hope for the nation and for us to come together to work through our current divisions”.
“The achievements of the past 50 years show what we can accomplish together as partners,” Simmonds said.
It’s understood the Kīngitanga leadership would be meeting tonight to establish what role the Māori Queen could play.
Parliamentary Security is working with police on measures to ensure the safety of participants and others on the precinct. Barriers are already placed in front of Parliament.
An email to Parliament staff last week highlighted the tight security measures that would be in place on Tuesday, including cancelling public tours, allowing staff to only enter through certain entrances, and prohibiting visitors for a period. Access to the forecourt will also be restricted.
Another email on Monday said the main entrance to the Beehive would be closed until the hīkoi had finished.
The public gallery in the House would also be closed for its sitting on Tuesday. It had to be cleared last week after members of the public joined in with Maipi-Clarke’s haka.
“As always, please remember to remain alert, stay safe, keep an active watch for any tailgaters, and report any suspicious behaviour to security immediately,” the Parliament email said.
“Please note that police have a significant operation under way and will have a high level of visibility around Wellington City.”
Mitchell, the Police Minister, said police had put in a lot of work preparing for the protest, including limiting the flow-on effect on local residents and businesses.
“The organisers of the hīkoi have been working very closely in co-operation with police to try and reduce as much disruption as they can to members of the public,” he said.
He couldn’t say how many additional police officers had been brought in to assist, but he said police had the resources “to deal with any instance they might have to deal with”.
The Herald spotted police officers walking through Parliament on Monday afternoon carrying a number of what appeared to be riot shields.
Mitchell hadn’t seen any intelligence about the risk of an occupation and he said there hadn’t been any indication of that by organisers. Parliament’s grounds were occupied for about three weeks in 2022 by hundreds of protesters in opposition to Covid-19 measures.
“But certainly, police have got the ability to be able to act and move if there is any indication they were choosing to move into an unlawful occupation of Parliament grounds.”
The Public Service Commission has provided advice to government agencies’ chief executives about dealing with the hīkoi tomorrow.
That includes that agencies should do their own workplace risk assessments and ensure staff are aware of the protest. Staff who may have concerns – such as with the disruptions expected to public transport – have been told to talk to their manager.
A reminder about political neutrality rules has also been shared, with the main message being that public servants have the same political rights and freedoms as other New Zealanders, but they should keep politics out of their job.
That means being politically neutral at work, but it doesn’t mean public servants can’t attend protests in their own time. They shouldn’t have visible markers of their association with an agency at the protest, however.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.