Why did Winnie call the hīkoi "a Māori Party astroturf"?

Every accusation is a confession

This article was first published at Johnny’s Substack and is syndicated here with permission of the author

Just shy of two weeks ago, the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti against the current government’s anti-Māori policies reached parliament after a much longer journey down Te Ika-a-Māui. The media has tried to downplay the number of attendees but I reckon there must have been close to 100,000. Others have already written and spoken about the overwhelming sense of solidarity and optimism and unwavering support for tino rangatiratanga and I wholeheartedly tautoko every one of those messages.

However, a different narrative arose from members of the government against which the hīkoi was organised. Firstly, ostensible Prime Minister Christopher Luxon explained that he didn’t front up to the crowd because “a lot of the organisers were Te Pati Māori.” This message was expanded on with characteristic bluster by ostensible Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters:

Luxon and Peters are obviously talking shit

It probably doesn’t need to be said but the hīkoi was one of the most genuinely grassroots actions I’ve ever been a part of. While there were individuals affiliated with Te Pāti Māori involved in organisation, the hīkoi itself was a series of events with a range of different organisers and participants.

It was explicitly non-partisan with Taranaki Whānui, mana whenua for Parliament grounds laying down Te Kahu o Te Raukura, the cloak of aroha and peace (previously laid in response to the 2022 parliament occupation). It was much more diverse than the 2004 hīkoi with pākehā and tauiwi stepping up to support it. On-the-ground, the huge number of affiliations could be seen in volunteers wearing hi-vis vests bearing the logos of the various groups that had donated them: unions, Justice for Palestine, Wellington Pride. It could be seen in the kai that had been donated by the Muslim, Sikh and Cambodian communities. In my role volunteering for Treaty Action Group, I helped with fundraising for the Wellington event and saw hundreds of small donations from individuals around the motu with a handful of slightly-larger donations from activist groups (not political parties). The idea of kotahitanga that was so central to the tikanga and could be seen at every level.

Pictured: the so-called 'astroturf' operation

Ostensible leader of the opposition Chris Hipkins may have thanked the volunteers for pushing back against the government so he didn’t have to but the idea that the hīkoi was the creation of any one political party is so incorrect to be laughable.

The ‘astroturf’ smear is pure projection

The political establishment is incentivised to present any opposition to it as illegitimate. The government specified ‘a Māori party astroturf’ as the reason for that illegitimacy because astroturfing (i.e. a political movement pretending to have grassroots support) is precisely how they understand politics.

If the hīkoi demonstrated anything, it is that there is overwhelming public support for killing the Treaty Principles Bill. Right-wing policies don’t enjoy the same level of popularity so they have to manufacture it. When we think about right-wing groups whether they call themselves lobby-groups, companies or even unions (lmao), we have to remember that their support comes from above, not below.

This is most obvious with groups like The Taxpayers’ Union (TPU) and the New Zealand Initiative who are official partners of the Atlas Network. This isn’t a secret: odious figures like Jordan Williams will talk quite openly about it while David Seymour will accuse anyone who draws any conclusions about connections to ACT, “conspiracy theorists”.

Free real estate at 117 Lambton Quay

Even as Williams loudly identifies the TPU as ‘grassroots’, he concedes that it enjoys free rent in 117 Lambton Quay, owned by Wellington’s very own Mr Burns (and official racist), Bob Jones via RJH Holdings. This means that all its related organisations: Wellington Ratepayers’ Alliance, NZ Debt Clock, How to Vote, et al operate out of here too. Jones also hosts Federated Farmers on the same floor. Meanwhile, hīkoi organisers have been making do with community and church halls.

Just because something has ‘union’ in its name doesn’t make it a Union. Think of rugby union, the union between man and wife, police unions, etc. Ever the troll, Williams has managed to get not one, but two, organisations registered as unions: the second being the Free Speech Union (FSU). In this case, it is hosted in Wakefield House on the Terrace thanks to Williams’ lawfirm Franks Ogilvie. The firm is named for partner and former politician Stephen Franks who invited himself to my university hall of residence in 2008 to complain loudly about Māori in the communal dining room before getting absolutely washed in the election. Not actually interested in free speech, FSU instead exists to promote affiliated organisations like (astro)-TERF group ‘Speak Up For Women’.

Then there’s Hobson’s Pledge. The most explicitly anti-Māori element of this astroturf network is relevant because anti-Indigenous policies have been a priority for Atlas Network proxies. Before Casey Costello was elected to parliament, she was involved in both the NZ Initiative and Hobson’s Pledge. Again, this isn’t some kind of revelation at all, it’s publicly available information and Williams happily mentions it in his interview with Guyon Espiner.

Despite Seymour’s wails of “conspiracy theories”, the links between these organisations and the ACT Party are pretty straightforward. It seems that both ACT and TPU draw from the same shallow pool of ne'er-do-wells when making hiring decisions. Seymour himself worked for an Atlas Network partner in Calgary and came back with a Canadian accent. It’s a small club and even if we could join, why on earth would we want to?

The best and the brightest of NZ political lobbying

The conspiracy that isn’t really a conspiracy

Last year, the TPU alleged that investigative journalist Nicky Hager was planning to write a book about them. Hager denied the claims saying that “They’re not important enough for a book.” I can completely understand why Hager would be disinterested. In a career defined by care, attention to detail and deep fact-finding, what use would he have for a book based on a bunch of information that’s publicly available and freely admitted by the subjects? There’s no investigation to be done.

What is clear is that there’s a network of right-wing organisations operating in New Zealand who intend to push politics to the right and promote ideas including anti-Māori ones. Many of these organisations share key people and operate out of the same buildings, often for free. They are supported by landlords, wealthy donors and the Atlas Network.

But this is just how the right-wing does politics. Some figures may be dumb enough to believe Peters’ accusations, others might be dabbing on us, it doesn’t really matter. The most important thing to keep in mind is that these groups wouldn’t need to exist if these issues had public support. Even if the left has to make do with tiny donations and community meeting rooms, there’s so many more of us.

Don’t forget to submit on the Treaty Principles Bill. If in doubt, NZCTU has a great guide for how to do it.


Johnny Crawford is a former public servant, making the most of his new-found freedom from political neutrality to write about politics and share his film opinions too spicy for the workplace kitchenette. Subscribe to his substack here.