Look at the Treaty Principles Bill, David Seymour’s pet project, which aimed to rewrite the Treaty of Waitangi in ways critics, including the Waitangi Tribunal, warned would gut Māori rights.
In November 2024, up to 100’000 people marched on Wellington’s parliamentary grounds in a historic hīkoi. Despite this very large uprising, ACT Party leader David Seymour brushed it off, claiming the protest wasn’t “representative” of all New Zealanders.
In November, RNZ reported:
Associate justice minister and architect of the Treaty Principles Bill David Seymour came out of the Beehive on Tuesday to acknowledge the hīkoi and wave at the protesters - but retreated inside after just a few minutes without speaking to the crowd.
Seymour told Checkpoint it was difficult to hear what was being said from where he stood.
…
"There will always be people who are out there making a lot of noise.
"I think at the end of the day the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders are at work, going to school, and they'll be able to engage in this debate in their own way.
"So you wouldn't want to take this hikoi as being representative of New Zealand."
David Seymour's divisive bill was shot down in April, 112-11, after 300,000 submissions clearly showed that it wasn’t acceptable legislation. A people’s victory? Maybe, but the coalition’s wider rollback of Māori policies, like axing the Māori Health Authority and cutting Māori housing funds by $60 million, plus all the legislation that disproportionately effects Māori, keeps chugging along, suggesting the hīkoi’s impact was more symbolic than transformative. This is especially notable in light of the government ramming through further controversial legislation, such as the Regulatory Standards Bill, without proper due process.
However, there's a new tactic being employed by the government to try and diminish the power of the people, and that's to gaslight the public with disinformation.
In May, RNZ reported:
'Nothing further from the truth' - pay equity shake-up not cutting pay for women, says PM
Addressing reporters on Monday afternoon, Luxon said the government's plan had been presented disingenuously by many of its opponents.
"I've seen Labour Party emails out saying that we're actually cutting pay for women. Nothing further from the truth.
"Equal pay remains, no change. Pay parity remains, no change. Collective bargaining remains, no change. Settlements that have already happened under pay equity, no change."
Historically, peaceful protests in Aotearoa have had patchy success. The 1975 Māori Land March, with thousands demanding land rights, pushed the government to set up the Waitangi Tribunal, a lasting tool for tackling Treaty breaches. However, the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed hīkoi couldn’t stop Labour’s divisive law, though it sparked the Māori Party, showing protests can ignite political change even if immediate policy wins are scarce.
The violent protests on Parliament Grounds in February 2022, where anti-vaccine mandate demonstrators clashed with police, leaving fires and destruction, significantly shaped the current coalition government’s stance on vaccine policies, with Luxon’s administration scrapping remaining mandates in 2023.
Climate inaction protests in April and November last year targeting the coalition’s move to ditch climate policies (like a bank established by Jacinda Ardern to fund low-emissions investments), haven’t budged policy, with a government in denial about human-induced climate change doubling down on deregulation. More recently, the Doctors and Nurses strikes have been dismissed by government MPs, or worse yet completely ignored.
Seymour’s claim that the coalition’s anti-Māori policy changes are harmless and Chris Bishop’s recent scorn at the hīkoi protestors during Stan Walker’s AMA performance clearly shows the government sees public unrest and uprising as mere background noise. Peaceful protests might grab headlines but appear to be unable to change government MPs minds.
Other tactics, like legal challenges via the Waitangi Tribunal or media campaigns amplifying Māori voices, seem to have more bite. For example, Tribunal rulings have slowed government moves on Takutai Moana funding, proving courtrooms can often pack a bigger punch than placards. But the government is also simply ignoring the courts as well.
So, what do you reckon, Aotearoa? Are peaceful protests still cutting through in 2025, or are we just running in circles? Is it time for bolder moves to jolt the coalition’s arrogance and complacency? Or do legal battles and online campaigns hold the key? Do we need a new playbook to make Luxon’s divisive government actually listen?
