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Um [00:00:30] um um, or see each different property. Oh, still going away? Um [00:01:00] um um hi, everyone. Um, I'm I'm really nervous about standing here because, um, I don't do this in in Wellington ever. Um, I'm from the Waikato, and so it feels like a really new space for me. [00:01:30] So I apologise for my nerves and and for my piece of paper also, um, but welcome here tonight for these conversations, a really big welcome to our, um, speakers tonight. It's going to be wonderful to hear, um, what you have to say to us and a really big welcome to everybody who's here. Because coming along tonight to a conversation like this is really quite is is brave. It's not easy for us to talk about the, um, and to listen about the, um [00:02:00] the oppression that we face and and to talk about racism within our communities and how that can impact, um, all of our communities. And so it's it's wonderful of you to come and to be part of that conversation because those conversations can be quite difficult. Sometimes, um, we ask that you, um, approach it with care. This is a community space rather than a therapeutic space. Um, And so we ask [00:02:30] that you approach the conversations like that if you need to take some time out from any of the conversations, we have some rooms available out there. Um, we've also asked Pyle to be available over there. Um, for people of colour, if there if anything comes up that that you need to kind of talk through, then, um, Pila has got social worker training, um, and is able to, um, provide some support for that For people who are not of colour white people like myself. Sandra is available [00:03:00] for you to talk through. Um, anything that needs to be talked through after the conversation. Um, I believe that's all. I'm going to leave you in the very capable hands of Sarah. Um and then we will close. We'll go through tonight. We will close with a cut of hair at the end of the evening. Thank you. Everyone works killed everybody. As Beck said, I'm sorry. I'll be facilitator tonight. You'll have to excuse me. I'm gonna sit down. Um, my back is not very good, So [00:03:30] OK, so I'll just talk a little bit about what brought us here this evening or us as the organisers. And, um, last year I was involved in, um, talking back, I suppose talking in an organisation that was talking back to 2. 50 and we had a I facilitated a discussion about, um and what it means to be and celebrate and celebrating something like, um cook [00:04:00] and what we could do as colonisers in order to recognise what that means and how to celebrate or recognise or remember in a more appropriate manner than what the 22 50 was proposing. And so from that, um, a very good friend of mine had organised that. And so from that, um, I got talking with Beck and Sandra because they were at that event and we really enjoyed what? The conversations that were being happened. And [00:04:30] so we thought we might like to continue, continue doing it and maybe try to have other events like it and the same person. Lalai Lela sea. She challenged us once. She heard what that we'd had been talking about it and said, Well, why don't you try and put something on during Pride Week and we took that challenge. We were a little bit dubious. In the very beginning, we weren't sure we could pull it together quite that quickly. But we thought, Let's give it a go. And so here we all are. So a big thanks to the four of you for coming [00:05:00] along tonight to share your thoughts and what you do in your daily lives. Um, I'd like tonight to be a bit of a back and forth question kind of thing. Well, I'll introduce the panellists at the moment, and they will tell you a little bit about what they do in their daily lives and how they work towards ending racism in a And then I'll open up the floor and we can just have a bit of a conversation back and forth. But I think it's important to remember that. Yeah, as Beck's pointed out, discussing racism is a really hard conversation, [00:05:30] and it's a conversation that I have found more and more that needs to happen within the queer and Trans communities. Because unfortunately or I suppose it's not really unfortunate, it's obvious, you know, we're we're just we work. We exist in a world and race is part of that world and therefore is gonna exist in our communities as well. So this tonight will be an opportunity for you to hear about what these people are doing and maybe then what you can do in order to support what they're doing, or just to give yourselves a bit of an idea of how to [00:06:00] work out in the community and deal with everyday racism. So on the far end, we have Laura uh, Laura O'Connell. Laura is a member of the Rambo Takata community. She is passionate about unleashing the power of the crowd through digital and community organising effective collaboration, values based storytelling and creative campaigning. She loves new loves, New Zealand music festivals, travel, vegan kai dogs, our [00:06:30] ocean and the power of human imagination. Sitting next to Laura is and Rahman and Drum is project leader for the inclusive collective, an organisation working towards a cross community approach to increasing belonging and inclusion for all New Zealanders. We do this by developing what we as an organisation, do this by developing a strategy and implementing [00:07:00] it via the Constellation model. These are work hubs which bring various communities and organisations together to work on a common goal which is basically what really sums up what tonight is about. Um, next we have Tanya, Tanya, So me did I pronounce it OK? Tanya is born and bred and currently working as a director of Just speak a youth power movement for transformative change in criminal justice [00:07:30] towards a fair and fair, just and compassionate. And wouldn't we all like that? And last, but by no means least, Sam Kate Sam Kate is a member of Treaty Action Collective, a predominantly group running community. Workshops to explore and engage with the history of the workshops are a step to support and and partnership in their daily lives. To acknowledge coloniser history and actively address racism, [00:08:00] participants of all backgrounds in history are welcomed. Sam Kate is an intersectional activist passionate about interweaving communities and support supporting sustainable well-being and that, um, that last bit there, um, interweaving communities again. It's about what tonight's tonight's all about, because you can't. There's no way we're gonna One person's gonna end racism. We're not gonna solve it individually. We have to work together. We have to work across boundaries. We have to work intersection [00:08:30] and yeah, so that's what we're here for tonight to start that conversation. And also, I think I might be right in saying we've tonight. We are putting the politics back into pride, and I think we're the only ones that are doing that. For those of you who know me, you'll know my history of activism and politics. So, yeah, I'm quite proud to be doing this tonight. I'm proud to be doing it with Beck and Sandra in the support of my beautiful wife Linda. [00:09:00] Alright. So would one of you folks lovely folks like to kick us off and start with what you're doing and where you're doing it and how you're doing it and not so OK, click on the card. So feeling guilty to OK, fine. I'll start. [00:09:30] Um I'd like to begin by acknowledging, uh, their history, their struggles and their aspirations. And, um, I'll share a which a friend of mine, um, told me, which is an excuse. My pronunciation, uh, which means let us join together and not fall apart. Um, I kind of wanted to begin by, um with a memory that I have And you need to tell [00:10:00] me when to stop talking, because I talk a lot. Um, but, um and this is a memory I share with. And it was after the Orlando shootings, which was, um, it was quite a gutting. Um, experience, obviously for, um, the pride community here and at, um, which is the Anglican action site. Um, the gay community decided to do a vigil in an event, and I found out about that. And I said [00:10:30] to be, Well, I need to go. Um, and so I went with her, and in a sense, it was possibly one of the scariest things I'd done because I was walking into a space where there was a lot of grief and a lot of anger, and I held within myself a sense of responsibility or a sense of, you know, I'm so sorry that this came from our community and caused grief to you. Um, and I knew that there would be expressions [00:11:00] of anger which they were, and rightfully so, like, you know, But it was just a matter of how am I going to deal with that? And how I dealt with that was saying You better sit straight right next to me. Do not leave my side. Um, but But I did that and I I'm really glad I am really, really glad that I went and that I had the opportunity to express solidarity and to express or to share grief with the community. Um, so [00:11:30] that is a sad thing. But it was also, you know, one of the most powerful experiences that I've had, and it sits with me, and I'm, um Yeah, I'm glad that is part of my memory. Um, so we you know, we're coming into the anniversary of another tragedy. Um, from, uh, you know, the Christchurch Mosque attacks, and it is really, You know, the project that I'm doing now, the inclusive a collective, [00:12:00] um, started after that attack. I don't know if any of you have seen the, um, video on Radio New Zealand that went up this morning. Um, but if you did, then you will know that we had been talking to government for quite some years and asking them to do a national strategy. And we had said two things. First of all, like we said, we've got all these issues that our women in our community are facing, and really, [00:12:30] you need to take a strategic approach to deal with it all, and we gave them some solutions. So for each thing that we raised each issue we raised, we said, Here's what needs to happen in this space And we said, If you get these solutions right, they won't just benefit our community. They will benefit all communities that are suffering from some similar issues, like you might have to modify them a little bit, but to to be suitable for that community. But generally [00:13:00] you get it right, and you you can transfer it across. Um, but government was government and we weren't important enough. And we did have no power in that structure. And so it never happened. Um, yeah, I'll not dwell on that. But after the after the attacks, um, I've been I did a course through the Leadership New Zealand Trust, and that was in 2017. So they did a healing session around the Christchurch attacks [00:13:30] via Zoom. So I attended that, and that's where I got connected to these two wonderful women that work at Foundation North. And I was talking to them. I was in a very bad space in April last year, uh, worn down lack of sleep lack of faith in anything. Lack of hope. Um, even after the attacks, I felt like there was no movement. Nobody was listening. And so I was just sitting there, pouring my soul out, and one of them I talked to her afterwards, [00:14:00] and she said to me, What would it look like if you did a strategy outside of government? And it was just one of those Excuse me, jaw drop moments. And I was like, Oh, wow, yes, yes, that would look good. I would love to do that. Um, and then they shared with me this thing called the Constellation Model, which is a way, um, to bring communities together around a single goal. And, um, one of the examples that had originated in Canada and they used it in the health sphere. [00:14:30] Um, but we subsequently heard about a US example where, um, a town in Oregon has used it around reducing teenage pregnancies and managed to get the anti abortionists and the pro-choice, um, in the same room together to work on this common goal because it was something that they all agreed on, and they were actually quite successful. So that looked fabulous as Well, so I started this week in June last year, I had some lovely discussions [00:15:00] with Laura. Um, that didn't end up where we wanted to, but it was just so useful to help clarify our thinking. And and she's been wonderful in terms of supporting us as as have so many people across the country. Like, I just couldn't believe we've got amazing coms team who, um, just volunteered their time to do a strategy for us. Um, the University of Waikato, who are funding, um, six literature reviews for us to go and look back at the last five years worth [00:15:30] of consultations with six different communities. And what we've currently been doing is, um, travelling around the country. We plan to hit, um, 60 towns and cities across New Zealand, and we're just getting small groups of people together and having very informal conversations around belonging and basically So we're taking three questions to a country which is when do you feel like you belong in a New Zealand? What is stopping you from [00:16:00] feeling like you belong and what needs to change in order for you to belong and we keep them deliberately. Sim simple and accessible, but they are very weighty questions and people talk and talk. And, um, we've just had, you know, amazing conversations. And, you know, we have these images of ourselves, and I think, you know, I think I'm more clued up than the average person. I think I engage with a lot of communities I. I read about stuff. I try and follow [00:16:30] diverse people on Twitter. But what I've been hearing is just like, fuck, I don't know anything. Do you not know so much about how people live and the things that they have to deal with? Um and so we will have all of these conversations. We will have three major. So we got Auckland. Wellington. Christchurch. Um, we're heading Wellington on the 13th of June. Um, Christchurch is on 28th of March, and then August will be [00:17:00] Auckland. Um, so that will be another way to engage. We've got a online space for you to engage with our questions. Um, and we've got you can type in your answers, or you can hit the button and speak your answers to try and improve accessibility for people with disabilities or literacy or English as a second language, whatever. So we're doing our best one to be access and second, to reach as many people as we can, Um, [00:17:30] with a view to once we have all the data, we have this fabulous data analyst in Christchurch and she's going to write a comprehensive report and we will develop a strategy out of that is very much a community facing strategy. So we are quite clear around our boundaries. We are talking to civil society. This is not a government facing project. We are not talking to government in terms of the data. Um, we think they should do their own strategy and their own work. And we don't [00:18:00] think the philanthropic sector should fund what government should be doing. So we've just been very clear We're not doing that. Um, And then once we have the strategy, we'll pull out three strands and try and develop these work hubs around them, and I can't say what they will be yet because it will depend on what the majority of people in New Zealand are saying. Needs to change. Um, but what my hope is in terms of what that would look like is that we'd look at who's already working on that thing [00:18:30] and bring them together and then try and bring people from across communities together to work on that common goal. And the underlying aim is one to change the competitive environment the NGO S currently work in where there's a lack of sharing of information and resources and, you know, we just put into the structure that forces us to be that way. And so this is a way to attempt to change that. Secondly, it's a community empowerment model because it's about [00:19:00] saying that community should lead directions. The community should be in charge of what happens to us, and it is our lived experience that should lead whatever is done and where the resources are put and how things work. Um, so it's kind of a, you know, sneaky way of, of creating a social movement for change, um, and putting us in a position where, when we're together, that government [00:19:30] actually can't ignore us and changing that power differential between government and community because I think that very strongly needs to be changed. Which is not to say I know there are lovely people in government and they're well meaning and they're genuine. But some of them aren't. And certainly the structures are not. They really aren't. And so these people, even if they wanted to do things differently or better, um, they just really hampered, uh, in doing so. So that's that's my picture. [00:20:00] All right, who would like to go next? I can go next. Um, everyone. My name is Laura. Um, I want to start out by acknowledging the work of Jeannette Fitzsimmons just because that's been really present with me. And I'm sure it's been present with a lot of you as well. Um uh, I first met her when I went to a young greens camp when I was first becoming a politicised young person. And, um and, uh, [00:20:30] I think, like a lot of people, she, um, provided incredible advice. Got me thinking about things in a way that I'd never thought about them before, Um, and helped along with many other people throughout my journey to push me into the direction that I am today. So and, um, at this time, um, yeah. So I'm the director of Action station, um, action station. Um, who's heard of action station? You're probably on our mailing list yet That's why I love being in Wellington. Because I used to live in Auckland and I'd be like, Who's heard [00:21:00] of action station? Like a third of the room. And I was like, I come to Wellington. Everyone's like, Yes. Um, so, yeah, action station is a multi issue, um, camp community powered campaigning organisation. Um, fundamentally, it's about using, uh, digital tools. Um, it's combining digital tools and community organising and, um, engaging people across their shared values and visions and hopes and frustrations. Um, to come together to, uh, take coordinated action. So hopefully [00:21:30] in that, uh, change, um, across a wide variety of. And I guess, um, and to like to speak to the we're here today to talk about, which is racism. Um, in 2017, uh, we read a report called, which is the product of 250. Um, that Moana Jackson and Professor Margaret Mutu. Um ran all around the country where they engaged thousands of maori, [00:22:00] uh, to talk about what, um, Maori wanted 2040 to be like, um, because that will be 200 years since was first site. And what came out of those who was a vision that by 2040 we will have, um constitutional transformation is the term that he uses, Um, which essentially means that we will live into, uh, the promise of which is, um that's people here by guarantee or virtue of the treaty and people of this land, uh, share [00:22:30] power and responsibility and care for, uh, share, power and responsibility for the care of this land and all of the people in it. Which, of course, is not currently the way things operate at the moment that power very much sits with the crown. Um, and not with, as was first intended. And one of the calls to action to organisations that primarily work with was Please go and do your own visioning process. Uh, and so we action station. At that time, I think we had a mailing list of about 100 and 50,000 people, and [00:23:00] it was like 80 90%. And so we took up that call and we said, OK, we've had this very clear call from a Maori, the Maori world to say please go into a visioning process of what you think the the country should be like in 2040. So that's what we did. And so we ran this process, called, uh, where we had 500 people all around the country. Very incredibly brave people who, um, signed up to host, uh, people in their homes or in cafes. There was one that happened at a McDonald's in Gisborne. Um, [00:23:30] there were, like, community hall events that happened in Christchurch. A few happened in south Auckland, Um, where basically people would come together to discuss three big questions to talk about Where do we want the country to be in 2040. And, um, they had, uh what happened is that every single participant was sent a survey after they, um, participated in that dinner to tell us what their vision is of 2040. And from that, we pulled out a bunch of vision statements and the values that people mentioned most often because whatever vision, um, whatever we [00:24:00] are doing to create our vision, it needs to be based on a set of values. And so, um, uh, the values that came up most often, um, were, uh, very similar to the values that came up most often in the process. Uh, they were which is, um, sort of this idea of uplifting other people's mana. Um, it's, uh, the idea of generous hospitality, um, without any without any expectation of anything in return. Uh, which probably everyone has heard of. It's often used [00:24:30] about. It's used to describe how we, um, look after nature, but it's also about how we look after all that we treasure, Um, including our Children and our young people and our babies. Um, what are the other ones? Equality and fairness community and belonging. And I'm like there is something quite important in this one in which is actually breath of God. Um, and uh is often described as love without discrimination. Um, when we sort of try and translate it into English. But it's difficult to translate Maori [00:25:00] concepts into English because there's not actually direct translations of some of these things. And sometimes it's about how you feel as opposed to what the words say, Um, which is certainly the case, I think with, uh and so we got these wonderful answers from people and we, um, had the set of values. We sent that out. A survey. Around 10,000 people from the action station community then responded to that survey. And from that we developed our vision for what we where we want to be in 2040. And that vision articulated that, um, at least [00:25:30] the group of, uh, mostly that we had engaged also would like to see constitutional transformation in 2040. And so that more or less, um, more or less has defined my work for the next, um, 20 years, but also the mission of action station. And so some ways that we actually try and work towards that reality. Um, I'm gonna give a couple of different examples. One is that we support Maori lead change. So over the last couple of years, um, we got, uh, we [00:26:00] supported the campaign around, um, with very practical support. We hosted their fundraising page, and we helped raise $100,000 for them so that they could continue the occupation. And then we would organise everything like, um, whatever they needed. Basically, uh, tents. Uh, what are those things called things to keep them dry and warm essentially because that as you remember that, um, the police raid happened in the middle of winter. And so that was they were cold, and it was wet. And, [00:26:30] um, in order to maintain the occupation as long as they have and it continues today, um, they needed supplies to be able to do that. Firewood? Um, well, those things braziers. Yeah, a bunch of stuff. But a lot of trips to bunnings, um, to maintain the occupation. We also, uh, got behind the hands of our tamariki network, which is a Maori led network, um, of Maori lawyers, social workers, researchers, midwives who, um, helped place [00:27:00] actually, the documentary with newsroom. Probably everyone saw it or heard about it. At least, which was the, um, video of, uh, CFS workers attempting to, um, uplift a uplift on it. Take forcefully, take a child. A baby, Um, from the maternity ward, hours after birth from a Maori mom. And so that video got 500,000 views. Um, we launched an open letter because we knew that documentary was coming out [00:27:30] because we were working with the people who had helped place that documentary. The open letter was calling for, um a a complete reorientation of the way that we treat care and protection in a so that it is no centred And the reason I say centred is because there's a lot of, um, talk about child centred at the moment. Um, and actually, when things are child centred, um, that's a That's a Western perspective. That's not an indigenous perspective. Centred means [00:28:00] that it doesn't mean you leave the Children or the babies in unsafe, unsafe situations. It means you identify what is it that that needs in order to be safe for that baby and that child, Um and then you work to make that happen, and you do that over the long term. So we worked with, um, the hands of our TAMARIKI network to, um to advocate for the changes that they wanted to see. So those are a couple of examples of how we support Maori change. But we also do work to organise non Maori to take effective action as treaty partners. [00:28:30] Um and so one of the ways that we've been doing that over the last two years, which is a sort of ongoing experiment for us is a project called, um and so is a response to online racism and online hate. We've done some research that found that, um, one in three Maori experience online hate or abuse compared to one in nine of one in nine. I actually think one in nine is still really high. Um and so, um, our ultimate goal is just to get rid [00:29:00] of hate, right? And, um, and the the the issue with obviously online hate is that it gives people who are expressing their hate the ability to spread it across time and space and often without any kind of transparency. Uh, and so is essentially a project where we train up non Maori, um, over a 10 week period to, um have to try and facilitate kind of more informed dialogue about Maori land, language and culture. Um, and they do that in a way where they're [00:29:30] they're taught first to listen because, um, a lot of the time where the hate is coming from is from a place of hurt isolation, uh, systemic oppression or being let down themselves or just not being What's the word to Is that the word settled to and yourself, um and, uh and so you first actually need to listen, But we our theory was that, um, Maori shouldn't have to listen to that. [00:30:00] People who aren't directly impacted by the hate that they spread. Should have to listen to that and help them overcome that. And so, um, but also, we recognise that even if you're not directly targeted by that hate, it's still really awful to engage in and so to to talk is about providing a community of in which you can do that, Um, so that you can talk about those feelings of what it's like to be a per, uh, mostly is in in our groups, a person working on anti-racism stuff because it is hard. Um, and you need places to share those feelings. And I feel like [00:30:30] Maori have those places, and I'm not sure have them quite as much. Um, yeah. And so those are some examples of how we try to work towards constitutional transformation, and I think I'll leave it there. Thank you. Um, my name is Tanya. I am, um I'm the director of Just speak, Um, and yeah, so and I'm, um I was born here in in [00:31:00] Wellington. Um, a rare person, I think, who was actually born and remains in Wellington. We seem to be a highly migratory people. Um, but, um Yeah, so very feel very lucky to continue to call, um, my home. And, um so I'll I'll talk to you a little bit about, um, just speaking the work that we do and how that connects to the the of why we are here today. Um, so just because an organisation focused, uh, on transforming our criminal justice system, [00:31:30] um, towards, uh, fair safety. And there's a lot of different words. It was, like fair, safe, compassionate. Just, um, and all of those things I think obviously connect to to the the cause. Um, to the vision that we have for a, um so just speak. Um, the the of the organisation is is, um, through, uh, Kim Workman Who, um, many. Has anyone here heard of Kim Workman? Yeah. Great. Yeah. So incredible in this, um, in this [00:32:00] area and in many, you know, he's he's touched lives of lots of different people with, um, all the work that he's done inside and outside the tent. And, um, he started an organisation called Re Thinking Crime and punishment, which basically wanted to be the antisense sentencing trust. Um, a very worthy, worthy cause, uh, very necessary at the time, Um and, you know, wanted to bring the experience that he had as as a Maori man, but also, um, a person who worked in spaces, worked in the justice system, but also outside of it. And bring what he [00:32:30] saw as the the fundamental failures of that system, particularly for Maori. But but really for everyone, um, into the kind of civil society world. Um, And then, uh, about eight years ago, he put up a cool, um, to young people. They said I look around the table and there are too many old folk. We need some young people in this course and, um, thinking that I would show up and then I think, like, 50 people showed up to his office the following week. Um, and that's how was born so And then we were initially kind of the the youth [00:33:00] wing. Um and then, as youth tend to do, we revolted. Um, I say we I was not there at the time, but I still I really connect with the story. Um and, um, kind of became the the like, the primary vehicle of the work that, um, that Kim has set out to do um, so, yeah, there's a few things I think that can really connect with. Obviously, um, the work of criminal justice, transformation and the reason why we're all in this room today. Um, and obviously, the the biggest one is that, um, our colonial justice system [00:33:30] primarily incarcerates disproportionately incarcerates maori. Um, and that reflects both the inherent racism and in New Zealand society. Um, the punitive attitudes that we, particularly as I think, carry, um as a legacy of our, um of colonisation and how we came to be here and the attitudes that that, um, you know, our ancestors brought with us, um, in my case from all the way from Poland, but from, you know, from the UK and all all over, um, and and the interaction I think [00:34:00] of of that racism of that punitive. And then a desire to to control and punish, um, people living out side of very strict ideas about what, um, communities look like and how they should behave. Um, so it's quite a big offer. Um, we talk about criminal justice, but it really connects to all these other things about, um what is you know what is acceptable behaviour how we deal with harm. Um, you know what belonging looks like in in many complicated ways, what our obligations are to each other, um, to help each other when [00:34:30] we're struggling, Um, Or when things do go wrong. Um, so you know it It can be quite overwhelming as Laura and I share an office. So we talk about these, um, the connectedness of all of the things that we work on, Um, quite a lot, Uh, for just speak. Obviously we you know, we're primarily focused on what can we do now to change our justice system? So that it that we we reckon with the fact that, um it is inherently racist when we look at the hyper incarceration of Maori men and women, which is the thing that has, [00:35:00] um, most obviously changed in the last three decades. Um, and And what our obligations are, as in particular, um, to work on that change. So that's kind of been the focus of our work. Um, for the last couple of years and, um, a framing that I've started using for it to help kind of people make sense of it. Um, And to help my myself make sense of it is, um, weaponizing, uh, respectability, politics. Um, and some people [00:35:30] are like, you say that to them. They're like, fuck like like, weapon. What is respectability, anyway? Um, but I find it really useful because I think it it It kind of captures the sense of, um, as an organisation where that has often been, um, staffed by and, um, supported by the volunteer work of predominantly, but not not definitely not solely, um, and and people working in the law and with policy, you know, with higher educate higher degrees. Um, that gives us a certain access to spaces where people need to be challenged [00:36:00] about, um, their attitudes, You know, their their racism and their participation in racist systems, whatever their personal beliefs, Um, and to kind of get, you know, to, like, get into the difficult, um, kind of connections between those things. Um, So how we do that is always changing. Um, but over the last three years, we had a few key projects that I can talk to you a little bit about that kind of connect with this, um, these, you know, having these difficult conversations illuminating the connections [00:36:30] between our colonial, um, history and the current status of our justice system and push pushing people wherever we can in the spaces that we have access to, um, to get them to think about how this cause very much affects all of us. Um, as much as it obviously disproportionately affects a Maori, Um, the first thing that we that we did, which was about three or four years ago, was Holder who we called, which was really about, um, creating space for Maori voices to talk about, um, Maori led solutions to [00:37:00] the, um this this question of mass incarceration. Um and, uh, it was it was this was actually before my time, but it still continues to really impact. Um, I think how we work because it was a, um a a forum that I don't think had existed for, um, really, before that specifically talking about, um, justice, the justice system, Um, all the different ways in which it was failing, um, Maori in particular, all the different ways in which it was, um, completely [00:37:30] neglecting the the obligations that the go that the crown has, but also that communities have under, um and the ways that we needed to empower the voices of people most affected by it to to set us on a pathway for how we might change it. Um, so that that was really an opportunity, I think, to try to demonstrate. And people from government were invited. Um, they were not invited to speak. And I think that's something I was recently at a in, um, where that um, kind of similar approach was taken, [00:38:00] um, where people from the community, um, were given the space to to talk. And people from the government were invited to sit down. Shut up and listen. Um, and I I'm really glad to see that kind of as an approach, um, continue to to spread, because I think, um, yeah, there's a There's a lot that, um, that we have, you know, we as and then I think particularly the crown has has done a lot of harm by continuing to believe that they hold the keys, Um, to how we solve this problem. Um, the second major project that, um, that we worked on, um, [00:38:30] that kind of tries to get to this sort of tries to provide openings. Um, for this conversation about the inter complex relationship between racism and the justice system. Um, was one that actually hit the the airways, if you will last week, which I don't know if anyone would have seen it. Um, some of you might have, but we released some research. Um, that was about 2.5 years in the making. Using the statistics NZ ID I database. Does anyone else know what the ID I is it [00:39:00] come and look at, um, data within stats. New Zealand. They have to go through a process, but it means that they can actually look at personal information. And there is some people are concerned that that information could actually be referred to outside. So, um, I'm happy to talk, but, you know, I'll hand you back to thank you. Thank you. Um, yeah, I won't get into the full ethics of the ID I right now. Um, but it's a very valuable a very valid point and one that's that was [00:39:30] very present for us and really, what we were trying to do, um, is use some of the data and the approaches to knowledge building and knowledge making that have mostly been the, um terrain, you know, or have mostly been the train of researchers, I think, which is basically using that hard data and looking at a statistical analysis of the way that, um of the representation of groups within our justice system. Um, and it was a very long time in the making. Um, statistical [00:40:00] is not my strength. Uh, mercifully, we worked with someone who who had a background in that and really, what we were trying to do is to say, for those people who, you know, maybe they're aware of some of the, um some of the research done by people like Moana Jackson and Margaret Ma. Maybe they are. They've they've seen the stats and, you know, they've heard maybe a story or two about what it's like to be targeted by the police as a young Maori man, but they just need a little more of that information of the kind that they recognise and the kind that they value. Frankly, um, So [00:40:30] what we wanted to do was to illustrate a little bit more about how how profoundly and demonstrably racist our justice system is specifically starting with policing. Um, and we looked at what the likelihood was of a pakeha person with no criminal justice backgrounds. So no police record and they went to prison. What's the likelihood that they're gonna get stopped by police? And what's the likelihood that they're gonna get charged in court and then compare that to a Maori person who similarly has no record? Um, and hopefully some of you saw this [00:41:00] anyway. But basically what we found is, um is that is that that discrepancy that we see in our prison system starts in policing, and it is not surprising. I really want it. This is not we didn't come up with this knowledge, you know, this is very much, um well understood, particularly by maori, um, but really by anyone who'd been paying attention. But I think what we were trying to do here was to provide an additional piece of information that was much harder to ignore for those of us who, um, who really participate in respectability, politics and the value of certain kinds [00:41:30] of information. Um, And then the third thing, the third project that we've been working on over the last couple of years, you know, on this was, um, a project called which was really about storytelling, and it was trying to demonstrate, um, it it was using the power of storytelling and values led storytelling to show, um, show people the the collateral consequences of incarceration, Uh, particularly for Maori. And so we wanted to illustrate, um, you know that everyone who has [00:42:00] been who has gone to prison or has had a family member to prison, who's been convicted in the court that they are human beings with complex histories, with needs, with desires, Um, and with value, um, and and to really kind of start to, um, chip away this idea that when you put someone behind bars that you kind of put that problem away, Um, that particularly for, um for the that that is something that will reverberate throughout generations. Um, and we see that obviously, with how, um with with all the statistical [00:42:30] stuff that we know about how a child or a parent in prison is 8 to 10 times more likely to end up in prison themselves. And we That's a fact that I can recite horribly easily. But telling the story of someone whose, um, parent has been in prison or who, uh, someone who is in prison themselves? Um, who has kids? Um, I think obviously does that far better than any number could. Um yeah. So that was a project that was a really long time in the making. Obviously, a lot of complexity with dealing with some of the most, um, traumatic experiences [00:43:00] of people's lives. Um, but what we worked on was a a multimedia exhibition that we exhibited in physical spaces and online around the country over the last year and a half, Um, launching a wellington, but then ultimately going all the way up and down the the north and South Island, and it remains online on our website if anyone who is interested in looking at it Um, yeah, so I think those that's kind of, I guess, a little pot of history of of some of the stuff that we've done here. And I think we were trying to go to now, you know, where it specifically relates to the [00:43:30] of of tackling racism and our our obligations there and the discomfort that we often feel there is, um, two projects. One is, um uh, actually very similar is inspired by, um, which is about hosting spaces similar to this one, actually, where people are encouraged to, um, lead kind of lightly facilitated conversations Talking about, um, the attitudes that underpin the punitive that we see reflected in our justice system. Um, school justice is served. [00:44:00] Um, so the idea is that we get together and, like, kind of call me, but I kind of like it, um, people get together, um, around some kai and talk about and are prompted with a few key questions to start unpacking some of those attitudes that we know. Um, underpin why we're so happy to throw a lot of people, particularly Maori behind, um uh, behind prison doors and lock the key and throw it away. Um, and that the again, some of those why those punitive attitudes particularly affect communities of colour [00:44:30] and, um, and also how they ultimately end up screwing all of us. Um, so that's a project that is launching in April. Um, and that is definitely something that anyone in this room can get involved in by, um, by hosting one of these dinners. Um, it's something that we it's very much a, uh, small scale conversations for long term change kind of project. Um, but those are really necessary. Um, you know, alongside the work that we're doing with action station and others towards the election, which is obviously a much more, um, pressing [00:45:00] issue. Have I talked for a really long time? Yeah, OK, I'll stop it, then. Thank you. Um um Oh, just being fourth means that I'm, like, bubbled up with inspiration and have no idea what I was gonna say anymore. Um, um, so I think just to start, it's it's such a privilege [00:45:30] to be here. Um, and I'm I'm very grateful, uh, for the the kind of, um, the community feeling of it, um, in a very personal way because, um, so I have a chronic illness which sometimes means everything is fine, And I can travel along in my happy little life, and everything looks great. And other times it gets really difficult and complicated, and, um, things get really hard to [00:46:00] do. Uh, so, actually, I had a bit of a meltdown earlier this afternoon about whether or not I would make it tonight. Um and so I'm very grateful to have made it, um, and to be kind of surrounded by, um, a group of people who, it feels like are gonna be very forgiving of, you know, whatever my brain lets me do. Um, and and hopefully, uh, that will alleviate a lot of stress, which makes it worse. [00:46:30] Um, so, um yeah, it's just such a privilege to be here and to be, um, sharing, uh, kind of some of my own understandings and experiences around so many of the things that have been mentioned. You know, we're talking about belonging and community and, um, and kind of storytelling and all of that. And I have things to speak to of all of those things, Um [00:47:00] and yeah. So I I'm here kind of representing, um, treaty action collective. Um, whereas a relatively newly formed group, um, as mentioned it predominantly, but not exclusively. Um, and our kind of what what we are hoping to do is engage at [00:47:30] a community level with people and, um, kind of inspire curiosity and humility that then results in anti-racism action. Um, so we host workshops, uh, on, um and, uh, they they can be either kind of open community workshops. Tell your friends, tell your families. Come along. Um, or more specific. [00:48:00] Um uh, we can work with organisations to kind of host workshops for their particular groups. Um and, um, storytelling and belonging really kind of feed into this so strongly. Um, So I, uh, I to Taranaki and, [00:48:30] um, and also Scotland and Germany. And, uh, I grew up in Christchurch. Um, which some of you may know is is, um, quite a lot more conservative and visibly white than Wellington, for example. Um and so, um, for me something that I [00:49:00] found really powerful, um, in moving to instead, um, and having an opportunity, actually, through the the Maori mental health system to really engage with, um, my own sense of and belonging, Um, And to kind of alongside that, be working in these communities of people who are talking about anti-racism [00:49:30] and, um other All of the other political actions that are happening, um I I feel very passionately about too many of them to list. Um and so that really fed. Um, I think into into my experience of meeting with lots of different people from different backgrounds, hearing their stories, um, and really seeing the value in in how connecting and storytelling [00:50:00] is. How we make change as we're saying, like, small conversations, long term goals. Um and yeah. So one of the things that I really found kind of, um really were brought home to me in the last two, treaty education workshops that I was, um, helping facilitate, um was just this, [00:50:30] uh, the sense that we're working with two really, really different world views when we talk about, um, we we have, um with all of its great depth of, um, and history and relationships and narratives. And then we have the Eurocentric with its equally deep set of and narratives and relationships and history. Um, [00:51:00] and the two very rarely line up. Um, And so if we look at at our, um, uh, our history of colonisation that has has built the New Zealand that we currently know, um, we can see right from the beginning that the two world views were were kind of clashing against each other, and and the only people who were being heard were the ones who were willing [00:51:30] to yell louder. Um, and that in itself was a product of the worldview that brought them there. Um and so one of the things that I feel really excited about with, um, with hosting these workshops is offering an alternative to, uh to the narratives that a lot of us got in high school. Um, I certainly came away from from, um, lessons on the Treaty [00:52:00] of Waitangi in high school with just enough knowledge to hide the gap and not enough to actually have any idea what happened or why or who. Um and and so being able to offer the kind of the alternative, um, of of reality, um, and and doing so with storytelling. So, um, kind of starting with, you know, what is [00:52:30] what is, um, a timeline? Let's let's build a timeline of, um, you know, we start with and and and we build down and we have all of these events that kind of occurred through, um through through various explorers arriving and and all of that, And, um, one of the first things people notice is that up until this moment, timelines have always started at 18. 40. Um, that there's there's never been anything before. Then, um, and the second [00:53:00] thing that we notice is that the timeline itself is an extremely western set up. Um, it doesn't really make a lot of sense, and that's why it's so. It's such kind of a fun challenge trying to place some of the the prior points on this timeline. Um, and I find watching people's kind of the the light bulbs, um, as it suddenly occurs to them that it's only just occurred to them that [00:53:30] the Western Pakeha world view that has always been taken for granted is by no means the only one. that there are so many world views and we have this great privilege of living in a country where it's not even two world views we're looking at. We have such a huge, beautiful diversity. And the, um, the importance of being able to see each other will then allow us to hopefully [00:54:00] get into some of this anti racist work. Um, yeah. So, um, one of the things that I also found, uh or feel is really intrinsic as this, um, the question of belonging. Um, where, uh, we we had a, uh a while ago before we were renamed as the action collective. Um, and one of the things that seemed to really come out of that for me was the idea [00:54:30] the idea that, um if we, um um that a sense of belonging is really, um, anchoring and and excuse me, gives that, though, that that you're talking about, um, and what I witnessed repeatedly through, um, through conversations with lots of different [00:55:00] people. Is that especially the the kind of New Zealand identity? Um, I see an awful lot of people who identify as New Zealand and have a deep sense of rootlessness. Um, that there's there's no sense of kind of a, um a solid place to stand and come from. And so that, uh, in turn creates [00:55:30] kind of a sense of, um, of kind of striving and and coveting and, um, and kind of the benevolent racism realm. You see, people who are really enthusiastic about, um, uh, Maori culture, they love everything about it, and they they desperately wish that they can claim it. And, um, hopefully for a lot of these people, they're not trying to claim it. But there's that real longing and sense of, um of missing [00:56:00] out on something. Uh, and a conversation I had quite recently, uh, someone brought up the idea that colonisation and its ongoing effectiveness, which is what we see in modern day. It really relies on, um, on, uh, cutting yourself off from the idea that you belong anywhere else. Because if you belong somewhere else, then maybe you don't belong here. And if you don't belong here, then maybe [00:56:30] your whole coloniser system is desperately more fragile than you want it to be. Um and so what? I really want to, um, and and the rest of the, um the group, one of the things we really hope can come out of, um, attending these, um, treaty education workshops is starting to get a sense of of who we are in the place we're in, um, in kind of a, [00:57:00] um, the beginning of of a belief that you have a birthright and an entitlement to your own history, Um, to your own ancestors And, um, that through kind of strengthening, uh, strengthening that within pakeha. We're enabling them to take space where it is there and then allow space for everyone else. Um, yeah, I think [00:57:30] that's, um Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Ok, um, so the next question I'm gonna put to you all, um we're really keen to hear about, um, things the discrimination marginalisation have in common here and how that can be made clear to the to the room. So how does what you all do in your daily lives [00:58:00] interact or intersect with the people here today? So I guess that I hate using the term Queer Communities because, you know, we're not, but, you know, let's just for tonight pretend we're all homogenous, OK? But we know very well that we're not, um, so yeah, So how would what you are all doing? I mean, if you don't, if you can't answer that, that's fine. But let's just try and have that so we can start to open up the conversation. I can go because I've got [00:58:30] it ready. I think, Um uh, So, um, one of the So I didn't articulate this clearly, but I think, um, and a barrier right now to, um, us achieving constitutional transformation is that, um, we still live in a colonial system that requires decolonization. And so a lot of action stations work now is about how can we decolonize various aspects of our society so that space can be made for others to re indigenous [00:59:00] those spaces. So we're very clear that we play the role of decolonization and not the re indigenization. We I'm a Maori person. Um, I have, um but I So I'm the director of an organisation, but I'm clear that we are operating, um, in what is called the sphere, um, which is the area of holding government to account. And then there's the which is the area of decision making sovereignty, et cetera, et cetera. And whilst I have have the privilege of being able to [00:59:30] go back and forth between those worlds because of, um, the nature of being who I am and because, um, the nature of the work that I do, um action stations role is to work in the and so part of decolonizing. Um, as it relates to the queer community, is decolonizing our construct of, um, gender. Um, And and so, um, in in, um, in Sorry, there is No, there are no gender pronouns. Um, [01:00:00] we this it's ear which in common vernacular has been turned into our So when people say it's up, that used to be back in the day. Um, I a And so, um, we didn't have those distinctions between gender pronouns, price colonisation. But that's not to say that we didn't have roles, um, within society for, um, recognising the strengths and the, I guess, the the offerings on a kind of spiritual [01:00:30] level of and and everyone in between. And so it's different. It's a completely different construct of gender to what we currently have. And so, um, the way that that plays out in action stations work is that, um, we have done a couple of different things over the last couple of years. One is that, um when a very small group of anti anti trans organisers, [01:01:00] um, were putting up stickers all around Wellington saying Shit things. Um, we crowd funded street posters to basic that just to show our love to our trans to say, um are are beautiful. Um, the artwork was done by who was It was gender. Minorities sponsored the artwork and then we crowd, we crowd funded. Some of you may have given to her $5000 Which phantom posters then, um, gave it to us at cost price. So we were able to put up something like 100 [01:01:30] and 40 posters, giant posters all around the country, um, to show our love. Um, when, uh, when we made a press, um, we made a What's it called the media Council, The People Press Council. When Rachel Stewart, who's a prominent anti Trans columnist, was a prominent anti Trans columnist was sharing awful lies, Um, on the New Zealand Herald about trans folk, Um, we [01:02:00] put in a complaint, and that complaint was not upheld. But New Zealand Herald offered us the ability to have a rebuttal. And so we used that opportunity to gather the perspectives of, um, 20 trans and non-binary folk. And we collated that together in a piece that we got published in the New Zealand Herald. Because a lot of the time the work of, um or like the work of anti racism or anti transphobia or anti homophobia is [01:02:30] about passing the mic to the communities that are the best place to speak about those things and so similar to the weaponizing respectability politics. We had an end with the New Zealand Herald, and the best thing that we could do at that time was to pass the mic and some of the people in that talked about, um, Pacific and Maori ideas of gender and sexuality and how they're a lot different to what they are today. You can enter that. Um, yeah. So So, um, picking [01:03:00] up that idea that the Maori, um, uh I guess just holds a lot more space for the diversity that really just exists. Um, within, uh, within our queer communities. Um, there's a a story that I'd like to share. Um, that some of you may be familiar with the, um, the story of and, um, it's kind of it's generally touted as the the absolute most [01:03:30] romantic heterosexual relationship story. There is, um and so they are. They're kind of, um, the story as it was translated, Um uh, kind of when the the early missionaries were translating some of the, um, the stories that were being told by Maori at the time. Uh, and that is the the current um, sorry. The currently recognised story. Um, [01:04:00] for those of you who are not familiar with it, uh, is basically that, uh, was highborn and tua was not, uh and so they, um their relationship was kind of not encouraged. Um, And so, um, being the strong independent woman that she was, um, decided to swim across lake, um, to, [01:04:30] um in the middle of the night, uh, to reach to and they, um, Consummated their relationship and with Vince forth, forth, allowed to to do whatever they were doing, um and so it's it's very romantic, because, of course, they were both extremely beautiful. Um, and they, um, their their love overcame all social obstacles and the very physical obstacle of the lake. [01:05:00] Um, in the middle of the night, Um, and so, um, only last year or so the year before, I, um, discovered, uh, some writing by, um um, and what she had done was found the original transcript in Maori. And from that she had taken inspiration and and kind of written a different version. Um, [01:05:30] but, uh, the original transcript transcript is the first written record of the term. Um, and at that point, it was meant to indicate, um, a, uh like Ah, sorry. I've lost all my words. Um, basically like a lover of the same sex. Um, and so the the alternative offering from, [01:06:00] uh, is, uh is kind of along the lines of Well, the the servant, uh, who I forgot to mention earlier. Um uh, servant who, um, just went around everywhere with him, was carrying a calabash that he smashed. Um, in order to get attention, Um, he is referred to as, uh so I don't think servant is quite the [01:06:30] right translation there. Um, I could be wrong. Um, but, you know, we kind of we see even just from that single point that the, um the the role of translating our stories was, um, was taken on by the missionaries, and they had their own sets of world view and their own beliefs and their own interpretations. So even, [01:07:00] um, even if it was entirely innocent, they, you know, they saw Oh, these two guys and they spend all their time together. But, you know, one of them is shorter. Who's probably the servant? Um, that, um No. So, um, yeah, we can We can really see that. Um, I think a Maori just has so much space to offer [01:07:30] to the queer community. Um and, um, yeah, that it just we are already welcome in, um, we don't have to do anything for that. Um, and yeah, in in the process of, uh, decolonizing, um uh, ourselves, if we have Maori or indigenous and then of [01:08:00] decolonizing the systems that we're living under. Um, there are so many gifts of space and acceptance that we will find there because colonisation doesn't actually benefit anybody. Um, except in really practical, upsetting ways, Um, but in a in a hard way, are not benefiting from colonisation in their soul or, you know, um, thank you. Can I just add a little thing? [01:08:30] That story was shared last night at the Pride Indigenous Maori music event, where they said that the MP for, um at the time shared that story in parliament in why he was voting in support of marriage with the stories and the the culture of acceptance and Maori having been lost through time. And this is [01:09:00] something that he was proud to, um, you know, represent and and and sort of, you know, say, hey, we we're reclaiming. This is not going against, you know, the Christian thing. This is saying this is who our people are and fair. It's totally fair. Uh, I mean, I think a lot about [01:09:30] the Yeah, the the sort of the particular focus of the work that that we do at just speak. Um, has been articulated really well, by I think Kate and Laura in terms of connecting, um, Maori with a way of understanding how we, um, live in support of people of, um who people want to love, who people are with their identities. And, um, and that respect and understanding and ways of working together that is a different way of so the justice system is a reflection of the way [01:10:00] that we treat people who we don't think matter. Um, and in that respect, it affects everyone. Um, but it also reflects these underlying attitudes that that bleed into how, um, people in the the queer community have been treated and continued to be treated. Um, you know, by the the kind of heterosexual patriarchal systems that are, you know, also part of colonisation as well. Um, so that big, you know, big, big systems level. It's all obviously connected, Um, and at a sort of specific level, when it comes to the the [01:10:30] money that we do at just I think, um, lots of people carry, um, privilege in different spaces. And, um, many of us, um, you know, we're not always aware of that. Um, some of us obviously carry a lot more of it than others, and I would put myself very much in that category. Um, but I think what we have the power to do is to know that the spaces where we do carry privilege or we do have capacity to have difficult conversations, to sit in discomfort and to raise the issues around, um, [01:11:00] those punitive attitudes and that racism that we all that's the water that we swim in. It's there that we breathe, so we can't deny it. Um, where are the opportunities that we have with the access, um, to the spaces that we do that we can raise that and we can make an impact in raising that, Um, for those who are most affected by those deeply punitive, racist and fucked up systems. Um, so that's a really high level answer. Um, on a practical level, you can always volunteer with just, um, and yeah, again. Um, get behind the [01:11:30] upper of weaponizing whatever respectability politics you engage in or don't. Um, but yeah, I think, um, all of our struggles are connected. So at a really high level, I think it's awesome to have people facilitate spaces where we just acknowledge that and talk about what we have the spoons for, um, on any given day, um, beyond our own struggles and their own things that we all face, um, to support others who are also struggling. Hm. I think, um, in terms of of our project, I think [01:12:00] clearly these issues of discrimination belonging, inclusion, exclusion are very much familiar to to the people in this room. And so, um, for this year and definitely until September, as we're collecting information, I would love to, um, have people that would be willing to get a group of people together in a room, anything from 6 to 16 people, and we would come in and just have that conversation. [01:12:30] Um, and we're very conscious when we do these, um these meetings that to ensure that the power in the room sits with the people who are telling us their experiences. Um, and that's why we didn't call them consultations, because it's not a consultation. Um, it is very much a conversation, and it is very much about, you know, being able to authentically [01:13:00] take what you're giving us into and reflect it as best we can in the work that we do. Um, and we are trying to be as transparent as we can with the work and also that we see our work as as all the workers. It's a public good. So when we have our strategy or whatever documents the literature reviews, everything will be online, publicly available. And if anybody wants [01:13:30] to take the strategy and use it to develop their own programmes if they want to use it for funding applications Um, however, you know, policy development, if you happen to be in government or local government and you think it's useful, it is there for you. Um, so So that would be great. Um, it would be really useful, as we do our major to hear from you, especially people that you know [01:14:00] in Christchurch that you think would be really useful to have in the room. Um, because we're trying to We're currently trying to get people to come along to that, and we want to make sure that we have a good mix of people in the room. So we love your contacts in Auckland and Wellington. Um, but also around the country as we're travelling around, um, if there are people that you're connected to, that we could then get [01:14:30] a sense of what it is like to be you in Gisborne, you know, or what is it like in Hamilton, or what's it like in New Plymouth or so on? Um, so we've done kind of. We've been down the west coast of the South Island and we really didn't get to connect with Rainbow Communities there. We couldn't get the contact, we couldn't find them. To be fair, we really struggled also with ethnic minorities there because a lot [01:15:00] of them are migrant workers or and they are afraid to speak. Um, their employers maybe are not as understanding for some of them. And so they didn't want to put that at risk. So even if they weren't migrant as such, but, um, New Zealand citizens So we did talk to some people, definitely. But it it was a struggle. So anything that would help that [01:15:30] process, Um, because we will absolutely anonymize everything that we hear like nothing like, And we try to create an environment where people can speak their truth, um, and share in a way that's safe. So that's why our will be by invitation because we can't afford to have it publicly open. Um, and we will have, um we're hoping to have around one facilitator [01:16:00] per every group of 10 people so that the conversations can be done in a safe way. Um, and then as we move into next year and start developing the constellations if you have any interest like again, we use our newsletters, our website, our social media to say, Hey, these are the three areas that we're looking to work on and if that's of interest to you or you know, organisations that should be invited into that space. Um, and again, it will be by invitation. [01:16:30] Um, because we know that that this stuff is fraught, you know? And there's a lot of places where people might rub up and and so facilitating it Well, to make sure that it works is really important. Um, but yeah, So you can also go to our website, as I said, and fill out our, um, survey. We'd really love that. And if you want to share that, um and I think at some point we're going to [01:17:00] share it through action station as well. So, um but the website is simply inclusive dot NZ So it's really simple and easy to find if you search. So, yeah, we we really would love to engage in ways that you feel comfortable to engage with us. Can I just Sorry, can I add one thing that I forgot to mention earlier, which is the, um it's strange that I forgot it, but, um, about [01:17:30] racism and and pride. So, um, I was involved in hosting the, um, give a little for the Auckland pride. Um, when banks was it banks that first did it? It was banks, wasn't it? They first pulled their funding. Um, because the pride community, um, Maori Maori, within the pride community in Auckland had gone along to the community to say we are not comfortable with police coming to pride in uniform. We're also not [01:18:00] comfortable with the corporatization of pride we would like it to be of by and for the community. Um and so they asked police not to not participate, but just not to do it in their uniforms. Um, and the reason that Maori were upset about police uniforms were for the reasons that, um, just speaks research. That came out last week have shown, um because they had lived experience of that, um, of that racism. And so, um, you know, all of these banks pulled out their money. Then a bunch of other sponsors pulled out their money, and then [01:18:30] the community raised $30,000 to save it. And now, this year, um, pride has had Auckland Pride has had more events than it's ever had before. Um, and more diverse events than it's ever had before. And a wider range of events covering the full, um, the full full coverage of Auckland, which Auckland is, um, is a huge place. It's very spread out, and there are a lot of, um, sort of different communities across Auckland. And this pride had more coverage than any other before because it [01:19:00] was off by and for the community. And they also had 7000 people who joined the march, and none of them had to pay $5000 to get a float to do it. And, um, and I just think that that's awesome. And I think that's very relevant to the conversation today because, um, as some of you may have seen, um, Banks have pulled out of this year's Wellington International Pride Parade. And the history in Wellington is a little bit different because my understanding, anyway, is that, um, Wellington International Pride Parade has been quite separate from the Wellington for quite some time. And they it was sort of trying to cater to [01:19:30] the split within the community of people who love a tank and people who people who don't love a tank. Um and so I think, one of the ways, like, I'm sure people here don't need convincing. Um, that maybe like police don't have to come in the uniforms. They could just come in T shirts. Um, but, um, I think it's about really showing up for, um for people when Maori say it because Maori almost always the one saying it. Um bless you, Tanya. Now, Tanya is often saying it, Um, but, um, [01:20:00] it's about yeah, showing up to say we support, um, the stance that Maori and communities of colour are taking. Um and, um and maybe we Yeah, we don't need a tank in our parade, can I? Which is, um, something that, um uh, Laura has also been leading work on bless you Law which is, um, uh, specifically relating to racism and policing, which is the armed response trial. So the trial of of, um, police [01:20:30] roaming around, um, with massive military weapons, um, ready to respond to and probably inflame an existing, um, uh, situation. And, you know, it's something that that, um, Maori Pacifica communities in particular raised really early on. Um, as a concern for them when when this was first proposed, um, in response to, you know, using the justification of the March 15 attacks, but with very little information as to how those threats or those responses were connected and how they would [01:21:00] actually address racism or keep people safe. Um, and, uh, yes. I think that that's another really practical that is happening right now, Um, that is very urgent. Where there is actually a genuine risk to people's lives. Um, and to their safety, that we can all get behind particularly, um, those of us non in the room and can go to a the voices of a Maori who have said we don't want this. This makes us feel safe. And this, um, compounds the the feelings. Um, you [01:21:30] know that our research eliminated that is very well known already about lack of trust and and belief and, um, knowledge that they're being treated very differently. So just maybe as, like a, um overarching, hopefully hopeful point And how to and just reintegrating how this really does kind of link in with, um, all of them, um, the beautiful thing with, um with intersectionality, [01:22:00] Um, as, um first, uh, worded by Kimberley Crenshaw. Um, black legal scholar and activist. Um, the beautiful thing with intersectionality is that every bit of unpicking we do is unravelling all of it. Um, and so you know, those little conversations with our that's helping we're destabilising the [01:22:30] terror that we're living in with every conversation we have every person we connect with, Um, and every time we we weave in our our activism and we say, Well, I support all the activism that the queer community are doing, and I support all the activism that the, um the Maori community are doing and all of the overlap and all of the activism of the disability community and all of all of the things, every time we engage with it, um, with [01:23:00] one of these communities or causes, we are assisting all of the other communities and causes in in building that momentum and in destabilising the things that are destroying our lives. Um, so that's really cool. We just, like, do a little thing somewhere, and it's it is all rippling out. Um and yeah, Cool. Thank you. OK, so now I'm gonna start, um, offering questions from the floor. But before [01:23:30] we get into that, I just would like to say you may have noticed he's not really that short, and that's not really an extension of his arm. But he's always at these events recording. And it's really great to have this resource within our community. So thank you. First of all for being here tonight, but if you don't want to be recorded, if you want to ask a question, but you don't want to be recorded, please come and see Gareth afterwards and he will edit you out. Kay would like to kick off with a question over the back. Um, apologies. [01:24:00] Kiwi thing. Um, this is not a question. It's It's a comment, um, picking up from the, um Wellington International Pride Festival. Um, in the last two in the last week, a group of young activists, including Maori and others, have said, We're not not only we're not comfortable with the International pride parade, but we want to offer a safe space to other people when that parade is going on. So an event has been organised for Glover Park, [01:24:30] which is just near Cuba mall, between 5 30 and 8 30 at which is the same time as the Pride Festival. It's not a speeches, it's just a hang out. Bring food, music chat. There's a Facebook event or you can get details. And it's, um, a broad sort of grouping of people saying, If you don't want to go to Pride Parade or it freaks you out, the police and all the rest of it there will be people to give support and just chill. Chill out time. Go to the park tomorrow. [01:25:00] Sorry. Yeah, Queer Avengers Page is one of the pages that co-hosted it, but it's also got, um, support from organise A and gender minorities. Um, A and, um, a couple of other sort of, you know, groups. So it's like there's a lot of people behind it, but the people who were talking about it didn't want to be facing social media attacks personally. That's why it's been done by the pages that are a bit more anonymized. Cool. Thank you. OK, open [01:25:30] up again for questions. Anybody have any questions I'd like to put to our panel or further the discussion? Sure. Um, I have a question, which is, um, for everyone, which I guess is taking your question, um, to maybe a more practical level, which is for each of you. What are some things, um, around your that you think we could be doing to further it in queer spaces that we're part of sandwich for, um, [01:26:00] the action collective. Uh, if you are interested in, um, in either, uh, kind of hosting a workshop within your workplace or your volunteer organisation or or anywhere that you happen to frequent, um, you can get in touch with us, and, um, we've got six workshop dates set for this year. Um, some of those are available for claiming, Um and if you would like to, um [01:26:30] to come along to one of our open community workshops. Um, you do we have a sign up? No, Um, you can come and talk to me and and we can organise, um, contact details, Um, and you're welcome to to come along to that on your own or with your entire or with all of your flat family or, you know, bring all your friends. Um, yeah, that's kind of a A really, [01:27:00] um, practical option. Uh, we're hosting these workshops. Please come to them. Thank you. I'll just think about it a little bit more. It's OK. OK, so I do have some of my cards here, but if you go onto our website, um, we've got you can sign up to get our newsletters, um, email newsletters. And also, there's a different thing where you can sign up to volunteer. Um, So if if if this thing isn't [01:27:30] of interest to you, feel free to do that or yeah, take my card. If you're interested in getting us contacts or hosting a conversation or any of the other things, then Yeah, absolutely. Feel free to email me. I'd love to hear from any of you and all of you. Um, so probably the most practical thing that I can think of now right now is that, uh so with we did four versions of this 10 week programme that people [01:28:00] ran through. And that was, um, based on the idea that we would get mostly to challenge online racism towards Maori. And then March 15 happened and we widen that. So it was also challenging racism towards, um, people from Muslim and also refugee backgrounds. Um and we always plan to do that. That just brought the timeline up, um, further. And since then, we've had approaches from organisations who want to run similar ones for people who do [01:28:30] that for trans people. And, um uh, people, uh, who are able body to do that for people with disabilities and, um because because the framework that we've developed or the model that we've developed can translate to other issues. Um, because it's essentially about, um, deepening people who aren't directly impacted by an issue's, um, knowledge on that, giving them effective ways where they can, um, effective, uh, ways where they can have conversa facilitate conversations about [01:29:00] that with people. So that that the education part of the work doesn't have to fall on those people that are that are directly impacted by transphobia or homophobia or racism, et cetera. Um and so what? We've what we're doing over the next sort of 6 to 12 months is we're scaling that up. But we're trying to do that in a way that's quite sustainable. Meaning that what we're doing is like a train that trainers model, um, where we're taking that programme and we're training people to run it in their own communities on their own issues and then adapting it in whatever way that they see fit [01:29:30] for those for the communities that they're doing it for. And obviously, if you're going to do it for, uh your system and you're gonna do it for trans communities, then I My recommendation is you do it in partnership with an organisation that works with and for trans people, as we did when we were developing our programme. But, um, if people were interested and you have facilitation experience, um, that is something that you could contribute to the work that we're doing in, [01:30:00] um I. I sort of feel like I am struggling to give us great practical examples as everyone else. I actually do think that, um if you haven't done so in your workplace, your home with your family, with your friends, that treaty workshops are a really good and practical way to start unpacking, Um, your ways of approaching these ideas and are all of the ways all of the to unlearn. I think a lot of the things that we need to unlearn. Um, and there's much more to it obviously, than learning about the history of the treaty. As as MK has pointed out, there's Yeah, there's a lot of other [01:30:30] world view stuff that goes on there practically for just I think, um, yeah, we are launching this this, um, justice serve project, and we we're really keen to get people across the country to, um to sign up to host them. It is potentially a little learning, but I think it's potentially really powerful as well. Um, and, uh, would really support people in particular who have or good friends outside of Wellington and outside of the liberal bubble. Um, to maybe work with those people to convince them to help to be part of that and to host [01:31:00] those conversations because those are the communities that we need to see. Um, those moments of change and you know, potential. Yeah, to radicalise them basically, um decal. Decolonize. So Yeah. Um, that would be great. If anyone is interested in that, Then I also I failed to bring any cards with me, but, um, just speak. Um, information. Contact information is pretty easily available online. And if you want, If you were interested in finding out more about that, then please do get in touch. And the awesome woman who's coordinating that project will [01:31:30] will loop you in. I can probably add, um, to your organisations onto the Facebook event page so you can find them in one place. So cool. Anyone else? Any questions? Anything to like to say? Yeah, sure. Thank you. Um, the work that I do in a so far is working with, uh, care experienced young people. Um, and I work in the US as well, doing the same. And one of the the common things that I experience [01:32:00] in those communities are people who don't feel a belonging. But also they don't have. They don't have enough, uh, loving community education. Find out people to help them learn how to make friends. Um, and I and I was thinking about how these are some really amazing programmes. They have food. Um, there's a hang out in a park. I mean, that's really awesome. And I was as a newcomer to New Zealand, I was wondering, it seems like a kinder place than than [01:32:30] the place that I come from, which is not Canada. Um, and all those Canadians are probably lying. They're probably from where I'm from. Anyways, um, I was thinking about how how do you make it easy for people to get into these ideas? Some of them are philosophical, some of them, and they're all about connection and love. Um, but if you come from a place where you've been beaten down, traumatised and so forth, then you don't have [01:33:00] the strength to make friends and and to show up places. And I'm wondering if there's any more. I mean, you were already doing so much, but I wonder if you could respond to that. I, um I love Yeah, I So I recently have been speaking with someone from the Red Cross who are, um, one of those historic organisations who have a really long I think it's 100 and something 100 and 40 years or something. That Red Cross has been going anyway. [01:33:30] They they brought in my friend to try and revitalise their engagement with youth strategy. And they've been talking to 3000 young people over the last six months. And, um and, um, the report will come out, um, shortly. But one of the insights she shared with me, um, was that, um, young people really want ways to volunteer and be a part of community and contribute to the world that they want to see. But within that, the groups that most want to volunteer are care experienced young people and young people with disabilities. [01:34:00] And they're also the people that a lot of organisations do not adequately, um, provide for in terms of labour care and on boarding and all of those sorts of things. And so, um and so one of the things we've been talking we've been thinking about at action station after we did that process is right is OK, So the value of Kitana came up again and again and again in these conversations, how do we actually build an organisation that's grounded on the values of which to me is about when a person comes into a space making them feel welcome [01:34:30] with whatever it is that they bring into that space and, um, planning for that in very real ways. There's no way that you like people who have experienced trauma will, um, trauma comes up in lots of different ways and lots of unexpected ways. Even when you think that you have, Um, even when you think you've been in, it's it's sort of like it never really ends right. Trauma is a journey that you carry with you for a long time, which you'll know because you do this work. And so for us, what that looks like is when we're [01:35:00] doing our campaign around, um, which obviously was a lot of care, experienced young people and Children. But it was also parents who had had their Children taken away. Um, is we made sure that we had a budget to be able to pay for, um counselling, cultural supervision, whatever it is that the people that we were working with needed, we always made sure to provide food and real life events because that's really important. And it's a real equaliser. It's a real comforter. Um, and to be honest, we were just really explicit with the people that [01:35:30] we were working with and we would say, Um, hey, trauma can manifest in really real really real and unexpected ways. Do you have a plan for what you're going to do if that comes up? And we would just talk to them honestly about that? And so I guess, yeah, if you're facilitating a space in which you're wanting to work with, people who are carrying those sorts of trauma, I just think it's about being mindful and intentional about how you design your events, your processes to cater for that and, um, and not shy away from it. It's more work, but [01:36:00] it's so much richer as a result. And, yeah, I think it's really, um, relevant to the the that just speak works on, obviously, because the experience of care and of being taken from families, um, has such a in such an enormous relationship with who ends up in in prison. Um, who was who was incarcerated, Really, rather than ending up in it's very much an active process, Um, so and yeah, those people who have who have had those experiences, [01:36:30] um, are horrifically over represented in in the, um in our prison population, Um and also the young people who have the most understanding of what it takes to be part of a community. What is missing from many people's experiences of their youth and of a community that wouldn't give those protective, supportive factors that, um, protect people from the predatory aspects of our justice system? Um, yeah, and in a So just because we we started off, actually, a lot of our first events were kind of these camps [01:37:00] where, um, mostly, um, hosted at which, um, really horrifyingly burnt down last year. And actually, if anyone has any spare money, that is a very good cause to give it to Because, um, yeah, I think, um, Bruce Stewart and everything that his did there to create a space actually built by people who had, um, people who had been who were, uh, gang members who were young people who who had been caught up in the care system. Um, they were the ones who built that. So has it a really fascinating [01:37:30] on that basis as well. Anyway, we were very interested, I think, just be at the time to do events that kind of built on that, um, those histories and try to provide a space of inclusion and belonging, um, explicitly inviting people with those experiences to to value that what they were bringing to it and to make the invite really open and really intentionally welcoming. Because, I think, um, like with lots of volunteer organisations, you do end up with people who already have privilege and spare time and capacity and not. And people have frequently told them that [01:38:00] their insights matter and what they their their opinions are relevant. So they're like, Cool, I'll volunteer. I've got stuff to give. Um, and while those we love those people, they're great. Um, it's also really important to make explicit space for those, um who? Yeah, who who come with a lot of trauma. Um, but also a lot to give. And as Laura said food. Um um, planning, um, and then and support for those people and and practically for us, it looks like we decided to then fund a position for someone or organisation. [01:38:30] Who is our kind of point person for volunteers and people who want to get involved, Um, in our work, um, in a more ongoing basis, Um, and that that I think that that holding of space for that person to bring all the stuff that they will bring with them from their history and their interests. And the the work that we do is really important to not to not put people out, to not push people out and not to re traumatise them. Yeah, so it's definitely a process, though I think there's always more that we can do and kind of in an everyday [01:39:00] sense like this feels really kind of small and far away. But, um, finding doing whatever you personally can within your capacity in every interaction you have with someone to show and to show care and love. And, um and, you know, be kinder to yourself, so you can then have space to give that kindness on to others, um, share, share food [01:39:30] with with the people who come into your life. Share your stories, share your, um, your time, your homes, your hugs. We we are desired. Um and just, you know, every every positive community building interaction that someone is part of flowers out and ripples through to to everything else. Um, and it's something that I've really learned through, having kind of sometimes really drastically limited capacity myself. [01:40:00] Um, is is that every little thing you can offer is a huge thing. Um, and, um, I strongly believe that the opposite to capitalism and therefore everything is community. And so every act of community that we, um we manifest is just slowly unpicking at all the rest. Um, and we're we're building the world that we want [01:40:30] to be living in, and we're sharing that with the people around us because it's impossible to build community without sharing it. Um, And so, yeah, even, you know, if you you find that you have no capacity to do any volunteering, and you have no spare food in your cupboard and you feel like you've got absolutely nothing to offer, you know, you have you you have your company, um, that you can you could share with people. Um, and that's such a huge thing. Um, and then kind of like a step [01:41:00] on from that is acknowledge the people around you who you see doing that. Um, because, um, yeah, it might just be, you know, a small thing, but it's all part of that bigger thing. Um, yeah. So I think starts really small and and kind of reverberates out. OK, Cool. Thank you. Well, thank you very much to our panellists. It's been really nice to hear what you're up to and what's going on out there in the real world. [01:41:30] And, as would say, racist as fuck. Um OK, so would you like to close for us? I do some teaching in schools. I want to ask you all, but it's OK. You don't so face video into, um I went.
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