There will be a backlash

Be prepared

Maha rawa wā tātou mahinga, te kore mahi tonu, tawhiti rawa tō tātou haerenga, te kore haere tonu - Tā Hemi Henare

We have done too much not do to more, we have gone too far not to go further - Sir James Henare

I don’t know about you, but participating in the hīkoi mō te Tiriti and watching all the many clips of the activations across this country (and in places like Australia and London) has done my heart good. I am not alone but rather am a small part of something far wider and more enduring. The creativity, the joy, the mauri of it all has been life-bringing.

a hand-painted tino rangatira flag on a denim jacket

I don’t know how many times I’ve watched that clip of Te Pati Māori MP, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clark, lifting up her voice in the House. Every time it comes across my feed, the call of the haka, the chants of Ka mate ka mate, the voices of the gallery joining in…it makes my hear soar and restores a part of my soul. The imagery alone is iconic and uplifting; the call and response takes it to another plane entirely.

Hana’s response has gone viral across the globe - even if the news reports don’t quite get all the details correct:

I am holding on to these memories and the emotions they evoke and tucking them away to draw on later. I will need their strength in the days to come as we face the targeted, sustained, and cruel backlash by ACT and it’s supporting “grass roots” organisations (e.g., Tax Payers’ Union, Groundswell).

These groups are extremely well funded by wealthy persons who have a vested interest in being able to extract and exploit New Zealand’s natural resources. They are also well supported by the Atlas Network, which provides a structure through which resources are allocated, ideas are spread, and power aggregated. Together, ACT and Atlas have a combined commitment to individual liberty, property rights, limited government, and free markets. Bills such as the Fast Track Approvals Bill, the Treaty Principles Bill, and the Treaty referendum are all aimed at removing constraints on individuals and corporations to exploit our land and our people. Tapatahi gives a great explainer here:

ATLAS - how a right-wing global network is building influence in Aotearoa

The Atlas Network and its supporters, including ACT, are organised, well-funded, and unflinching in their attack on Indigenous rights and peoples across the globe. Indigenous groups, with their shared resistance to extractive and exploitative practices to both people and to the land, along with their collectivist approach and established organising tactics, present a clear and present threat to all that ACT aim to achieve.

This means there will be a targeted, sustained, and cruel backlash against the hīkoi, the activations, Te Pati Māori, and all those involved.

ACT will be observing and directing their staff to design and implement a smear and propaganda campaign. If past history tells us anything, this will look like the following:

• a firehose of memes, half-truths and lies, and easily shareable soundbites flooding social media.

• an endless number of astroturf accounts and bots commenting online across every instance of key words and hashtags, repeating carefully workshopped lines ad nauseum.

• enormous amounts of (paid) airtime for ACT supporters on media and news sites to share their ideas, make it all sound Extremely Reasonable, and to herd the wider public to agree with their ideas.

• a never-ending supply of opinion pieces across print and online media, all expressing support for the Treaty Principles Bill (while simultaneously attempting to distance themselves from ACT per se).

Keep an eye out for benign and targeted nastiness at Te Pati Māori; anything and everything that undermines and maligns the party and their MP’s. Watch out for sneers and dismissive comments about Māori. Note who is Being Very Reasonable and yet their ideas and posts always end up supporting the ideas of ACT.

Don’t be fooled by their mealy-mouthed words and pretence; the Treaty Principles Bill and associated referendum aim to strip Māori of their Tiriti-based rights and sweep away opposition to exploitative practices and implemented unfettered extraction of this country’s resources.

Be prepared; use this time to nourish your wairua, to shore up your resistance, build connections, and shape your plans.

Hold fast to the kaupapa. Toitū te Tiriti.