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Whakarongomai, Whakarongomai, Whakarongomai ki te tangi a te tūi, Whakarongomai, Whakarongomai ki te tangi a te whānau, Takatāpui ki te whānau, Aniwaniwa ki te whānau, Ngā tāne mā, Ngā wahine mā, Whakarongomai, Whakarongomai, Whakarongomai ki a rongo te pō, Ki a rongo te ao, Tihei, Whakarongomai, Whakarongomai, Whakarongomai.[00:00:30] Mauri ora. ena mate, [00:01:00] e moi! e moi, e moi! e tukanaa ko têna te ra, kia tuia tuia i rongo, runga tuia i raro, tuia i roto tuia i waho tēnei te kaupapa e whakawhaiti nei tātou i tēnei wā nōrēra, e kore na na mihi, uh, kia mutu, Ki te mana whenua, Ngāti, Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Whānui, [00:01:30] tēnā koutou katoa. Nō reira, kia koutou katoa, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou. He, he mea karakia hei tīmata i tā tātou nei hui. He tau nei ki rungi a tātou katoa te wairu o ngā mātua tūpuna. Ngā rātou i whakatakoto te ara hei hikoina mā tātou ngā uri. He whakatokia tātou nākau ki ngā tikanga hei arataki a tātou kia nākau nui. Ki te hapai a tātou mahi katoa, i roto, i te pono, i te tika, i te [00:02:00] māramatanga, me te aroha anō tētahi ki tētahi koia rā, e rongo, whakairi ake ki runga kia tēnā. Haumi e hui e. Tō tātou nei waiata a Tūteramai nā iwi. Tūteramai nā iwi, au e, tātou, tātou e. Tūtira mai ngā iwi, tātou, [00:02:30] tātou e. Pai a te maramatanga me te aroha. E ngā iwi, kia potahi, kia potahira. Tātou, tātou e, Tūtira mai ngā iwi, Tātou, tātou e, Tūtira mai ngā iwi, [00:03:00] Tātou, tātou e. Pae a te maramatanga me te aroha. E na iwi, ke akotah patahi, ke akotahira. Tātou, tātou e. Tātou! Tātou, tātou e. Kurati a ki a mau, ki a wehi. Mariata[00:03:30] kia tātou katoa. Aeo ki te nuku, aeo ki te rangi. Karakiwi, karakiwa. Uh, a nei tātou ko ngā mata mara o te uenuku ki runga. Tīhei, mauri ora. Kei ngā mate o te wā, Koa topa tū ki tua, o tāwharo. [00:04:00] Oh, ki tua o Tāwhana, e moe. Ki ngā tāngata o konei, tātou i hikoi ngā tahi i raro i te maru o te kōpere takatāpui, e mihingana ki a koutou katoa. He hikoi whakamanawa tēnei mō tātou, te hunga takatāpui, te hunga rangatahi, otira tātou e hikoi ana. Kia whai maramatanga ki a tātou anō. Ina te nui [00:04:30] o ngā kaupapa e kōkiri tahi ana, Toitu te Tiriti, Toitu Takatāpui, Toitu ngā iwi taketake puta noa, Tātou katoa maranga mai, mihi mai, whakatau mai rā. Ko e nei taku, ko ai tenei i mua atu i a koutou. He uri tenei no Ngāti Porou, me Samoa hoki. Ko Savia, Savia noa tōku ingoa. I stand in front of you, [00:05:00] not as the co -chair of Wellington Pride Festival, but as a proud takatapui, as a proud whakawahine, and also as a proud trans woman of colour. Um, I'd like to thank you all for coming together as one. For being together as one, for walking together as one, to celebrate, to liberate, [00:05:30] um, our trans rights, our queer rights, and also to liberate those that we still try to fight for. Our legislations, our movements for Palestine, our movements for everything in between, um, and for What we do and what we do well in our lifetimes. Um, I'm a proud member of Purirua. Um, and it's great to be present here in the centre of Pōneke. Um, Te Whanganui -a -Tara to come in [00:06:00] front of you. So obviously, welcome yous all here. Um, and thank you to QUAC for organising this massive hikoi. Can we give a big pakipaki for them please? Also want to say... All the emotions that were running from me while walking today was amazing, I felt so liberated, felt so proud to be from this community. Um, and that's a, I'm not good with [00:06:30] speeches, I'm more of a behind the computer person. Um, so please don't hate me. Um, koi, koi na taku kōrero. Mō tēnei wā pōtō, um, ara toitū te Tiriti, free Palestine, free every indigenous country out there. Mauri ora ki a tātou. Te [00:07:00] aroha, te whakapono, me te rangimarie, tātou, tātou e. Te aroha, te whakapono. Me se rangi marie [00:07:30] Tātou, tātou e Tūturu whatawhiti whakamaua kia tēina Tēina! Haumi e, huie! Haumi e! Kia ora, Pōneke! Kia ora, kia ora. I'm going to do a bit of a health and safety, and then we'll get some chants going, and then we're going to get our lovely speakers on the stage. I, and the speakers, need to remember to speak a little bit slower because we have a lovely interpreter with us here today. Ka [00:08:00] pai. Te tikanga toatahi, instead of clapping, let's try clicking. If you go to Te Wanongorakawa, you know the vibes. Ka pai. So I'm going to say something really cool, and instead of clapping, you're going to click. Takatāpui. Quack. Toitu te tiriti. Wise, wise, wise words, wise, wise wisdom. Tēnā rā tātou. [00:08:30] The goal of this kaupapa is to invite you, our community, our tangata takatāpui, our tangata whenua, our whānau from Palestine, our whānau supporting Palestine, um, To the ātea, to the place to share kōrero, you'll see you're sitting down today, we didn't want you to stand, we want to create a wānanga environment. So the prompt that most of our speakers have been given is when you consider these three kaupapa, what's something we can offer to you to take away home to your whānau, your hapū, your iwis and your [00:09:00] communities. Because I'm pretty sure if you're here today you're probably going to be standing for most of these kaupapa already. Te tikanga for the kaikōrero is we're here to listen, we're here to learn, um, we're going to do some chants in between and give our interpreter a break, um, but yeah, should you need anything, please see a marshal and I think we'll be all good. Everyone off the bus, stay in the shade, um, if you need to leave for whatever reason, please leave, don't feel front like you need to come tell us, just haere, haere, haere, haere.[00:09:30] Mariora, so a kaupapa, Toitu Te Tiriti, Free Palestine and Manataka Tāhui, can I get... Our banner holders, to come hold up the banner for one sec. I want to do a little kōrero about the banner. Te kōrero tuatahi, toitu te tiriti, honouring te tiriti. Not the Treaty of Waitangi, two different documents. And that's our responsibility as a queer community, as a takataapu community. It sits in our whakapapa to stand with the solidarity [00:10:00] of indigenous people. Klikki -klikki mai, klikki -klikki mai. Kaupapa tua rua, Free Palestine, it sits in our whakapapa as a queer and takatapu community to stand in solidarity with indigenous peoples, whether they're in Aotearoa or whether they're all across the world. Don't let the IDF paint this image that it's unsafe to be queer in Palestine. They've made it unsafe. When you go on Queering the Map online, you see many beautiful stories of queers and [00:10:30] gays living out there, nightclub fantasies, living there, um, I don't know if you're into reading books, but they like to read books and there's some beautiful stories, their first dates, all of the things. Queers exist in Palestine, and we must also stand with Palestine. Tēnā rā tatou. Our last one is mana takatāpui, which refers to the protection of rainbow rights and legislation, takatāpui rights and legislation, and the prevention of further, um, unequal, discriminatory, [00:11:00] uh, legislation. Um, mihi atu kia koe, Te Rangatira Whaea Elizabeth, mō tō mahi i tēnei kaupapa, me te hapori o Tīwhanawhana. Tēnei te mihi kia koutou katoa. And as you can note, the colours, red plus blue equals purple, these are all connected. Our liberation is connected, none of us are free until we are all free. Ka pai? The first speaker I'm going to invite is a lovely friend and a lovely [00:11:30] hoa. Kia ora banner holders, you can take a noho, you can enjoy the wananga if you want. Kia ora, kia ora. The first speaker is a lovely hoa of mine, a friend from Tāmaki, from Ngāti Pikiao. Ko Afi Marshall tōna ingoa and I'm going to invite her onto the stage to share a korero with you all. Afi, you have three and a half minutes. No, three to five minutes. I know Māoris love to talk and talk and talk. Tēnā rā tātou katoa, tēnei te mihi ki kia koutou te ātiawa Taranaki Whānui. Um, e mihi anō, [00:12:00] kia koe te rangatira whānau na Efisal Collins. Moe mai rā, moe mai rā, hoki atu rā kia o mātua tūpuna. Kei runga Matafaura, kei rara ko korokiti wao. Ko Ngāti Tamati a Tūtahi, ko Ngāti Kawiti i ngā hapū, ko Te Paiharuru i te marae. Heuri tēnei o Te Tokotoro o Manawakatokoto, ko Ngāti Pikiao te iwi. Tupakewa i te Tai Tokerau, um, engari, i noho ana au i Tāmaki Makaurau i nai anei, um, he tauira ahau ki Waipapa Taumatarau, um, [00:12:30] otira, ko au te kai arahi takirua o te runanga whakaari o Inside Out Koaro, um, ko Awfi Marshall tōku ingoa. Uh, that's just a little bit about me. Sorry, move this up. Um, but yeah, QUAC invited me, uh, to speak here today. What, like, Um, and didn't really give me much of a vibe on what to talk about, left it up to me. Um, and I genuinely had no idea what I was going to talk about for quite a while. And then I was talking [00:13:00] to one of my dear friends, um, and she inspired me with a kōrero, so I wanted to sumihi to her first. Um, I could stand up here and tell you about things you already know about. I could tell you about the Nakpa, about the indiscriminate bombing and death toll in Gaza. Um, I could tell you about this awful government and its agenda to put money before people, communities and environment, and its efforts to take on Te Mana o Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Mana o Ngā Tangata Takatāpui. Um, but [00:13:30] instead I want to talk about something that I find is really acknowledged, uh, in communities like this, and that's how collective grief, um, how powerful and important it is. We're witnessing a genocide in real time, live over our phones, which is a relative first in human history. Um, we're stuck here in Aotearoa, often feeling like there's nothing we can do, or little we can do, to prevent the horrors we see. There are no words to describe how you're supposed to feel in a situation like this. Because it's a situation that should never happen. [00:14:00] Um, sometimes I find that acknowledging, witnessing things like this can be traumatic is difficult. Because what Palestinians are going through is infinitely times worse. And that's true, but we still need to acknowledge how we're feeling, and allow ourselves space to grieve, to rest, um, and to care for one another. This beautiful space here, surrounded by your whānau a niwa niwa, is a safe space to grieve. Grieve for Palestine. For the tens of thousands of pepi, tamariki, rangatahi, pakeke, koeke, mātua [00:14:30] that we've lost. Grieve for the land that we've lost, that's been destroyed, that's been bombed. Um, grieve for our whānau takatāpui who should be here with us today but aren't. Um, grieve for next Benedict and all those lost to transphobic and queerphobic violence. Take the time you need. Grieve for the loss of our progress under this kāwanatanga kākifero. Grieve, cry, feel, but then fight. Fight like hell, feel your grief in its entirety. [00:15:00] Don't let it immobilise you forever, use it to fuel you. Let it radicalise you, not lead you to hopelessness. We owe it to Palestinians, to Māori, to future generations, not to despair and give up. Kia mate i rūroa, kei mate wheke. Fight and die like a shark, don't give up like an octopus. To be able to achieve anything, we need to look after ourselves. I'm often reminded of the instruction you receive on a plane. Put on your own oxygen mask before you help others. You're no use to anyone else if you're incapacitated. Um, [00:15:30] it's really important that we're always empathetic, passionate and energetic in our fight for others. But we can't, yeah, help others if we're drowning ourselves. Um. First, look after yourself, and once you're okay, look after your community. Because without our community, we're nothing. Um, ko ngā kupu o Kingi Tāwhiao tuka aro tō Matutaira Potatau te Wherowhero, Ki te kotahi te kākaho, ka whati. Ki te kapuia, e kore e whati. When we stand alone, we fall. When we stand together, nothing [00:16:00] can break us. Like our signs say, we're taonga worth protecting. Protect yourselves, protect each other. Um... Yeah, so if we just take a second, take a breath, look around you, look at all these people surrounding you, supporting you, lean on each other, listen to your own needs, listen to others' needs, um, so that we can then stand together and fight. Fight for Palestine, for Māori, uh, for future generations, uh, fight against colonialism, capitalism, and environmental destruction. [00:16:30] Uh, kei te mihi ki a koutou katoa mō koutou manaaki i te wāhine, um, aroha nui ki a koutou katoa. I'll close this space again, uh, with words from Kingi Tawhiao. Ka whāwhaito anu mātou, āke, āke āke. Kia ora, Awhi! He kliki -kliki -kliki ano. He au te kipi Māori mō kliki -kliki. Aua. Gays for Gaza! Gays against genocide, e te whanau. [00:17:00] Gays for Gaza! Gays for Gaza! Queers for Gaza! Queers for Gaza! Free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! Boycott Israel! Boycott Israel! Queer rights are human rights! Queer rights are human rights! From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! Free, free Palestine! Honour Te [00:17:30] Tiriti, for white supremacy! Yeah, so we changed the words last minute because some people were getting hoha about the swearing. Honour Te Tiriti, down with white supremacy. Ona a te tiriti, Down with white supremacy! Mauri ora. Ao kai korero tuarua, Kowai? Ko au. Kia ora rā tātou. My name's Quack. I'm a tiki rangatahi Māori from Te Tai Tokerau. [00:18:00] I've just moved down from Tāmaki down to Pōneke, so I don't know why I decided to help lead this hīkoi today. Um, it's giving overworked underpaid. Uh, identifies Takatāpui, and I have a lovely, lovely partner sitting right over here, Ko Jax, tōna ingoa. Whikifiki mai for Jax! Aren't they beautiful? Aww! Alright, giving gay, giving Takatāpui. Um, I lead a kaupapa called Mana Ani Waniwa, which is a kaupapa that seeks [00:18:30] to connect those disconnected with their whakapapa in the Takatāpui space to climate action. Um, Through many kaupapa that are happening inside this house, but also around the world, it can be really hard to prioritise kaupapa that we turn up to. Because whilst we are standing for Palestine, standing for the protection of rainbow and takataupi legislation, standing to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, all these other things are happening on the side. You see how much this house sits under urgency. It's cooked, and it's a complete, taking the piss out of democracy.[00:19:00] Ae, ae, kliki kliki mai. I need to learn what kliki is in Maori. The way this house has weaponised urgency to disregard Te Tiriti. Disregard the democratic process. It's out the gate, it's giving coloniser, it's giving white supremacy, it's giving KKK. That's for you David, and Christopher Luxon, and Winston Peters. And [00:19:30] Seymour! And Seymour, and Seymour. That bastard! That bastard, thank you, thank you. You can't hide behind your whakapapa now, Winston. Or David. Kaupapa, aye! What else have I got? I've got a bunch of chants. We can do some chants. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! Gays for Gaza, Gays against genocide! Gays for Gaza, Gays against genocide! [00:20:00] Queer rights are human rights! Queer rights are human rights. Gay rights are human rights. Gay rights are human rights. Trans rights are human rights. Trans rights are human rights. Ona te tiriti. Down with white supremacy. Meriora. I really didn't prepare a speech today, te whanau. But mihi atu ki a koutou to those who are struggling to find the intersect between their queerness, their whiteness, their brownness, Their identity, indigenous identity, all of those things. We know it is hard, but living through a genocide is harder. [00:20:30] So get on Instagram, start learning some things, turn up to the hikoi. Mihi atu kia koutou katoa. Kia ora, kia ora, ah, tēnā koe, tēnā, tēnā koutou. Our next speaker, you ready? Is our lovely Mina, I'll let them introduce themselves. Um, and he's going to do a beautiful job. Klik, klik, klikimai for Mina. As -salāmu ʿalaykum. And kia ora koutou katoa. My [00:21:00] name is Mina Al -Amla, and I stand here today as a gay, transgender, indigenous, Palestinian man. I am also a son, a partner, to... A beautiful, beautiful person who's sitting over there right now. And a student of history and hope.[00:21:30] I, um, so I was invited here today by Quack about a week ago. And it's been a hell of a time trying to prepare a speech. Um, But Quack did give me some advice, and um, or more or less Quack told me, You're allowed to speak for as long as you want. So, um, Only Mina! Only Mina! Only Mina! So, um, I [00:22:00] apologize in advance for that. Alright. So I whakapapa to Palestine on my dad's side. We're from a village called Betula. Which is northwest of Hebron in the West Bank. It's an unbelievably beautiful place. My Palestine. My grandparents, Mohammed and Fathia, bought the first television in the neighborhood. And [00:22:30] before long, they had everyone and their donkey sitting outside on plastic chairs watching the Egyptian comedies and the news. In my Palestine, my uncle has accepted chickens as payment for complex dental procedures. In my Palestine, the taxi driver in Ramallah told me about his husband and daughter, and tapped the beautiful smiling family photo that he kept wedged above the Glade plug -in in [00:23:00] his car. In my Palestine, the streets are old and living and loud. At first, when writing this speech, I thought of focusing my talk on my experience as a proud transgender Palestinian. And I thought of writing about everything that comes with that. However, while [00:23:30] transitioning has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, This freedom and joy rings very hollow when my homeland is not free. When Israel is starving and slaughtering Ghazans at an unimaginable scale with little to no impunity. And I don't really want to talk about that either. So yeah, instead of talking about my queerness, [00:24:00] what I'd like to do is take you with me on a discussion of a different kind of fruit, if you would allow it. I haven't been able to go back to my Palestine in a number of years, but when I walk through her streets in my mind, the first thing that I see is a great bounty of fruit growing in every direction. This is the great fallacy of memory though, right? It doesn't really look like that. [00:24:30] But it does. First I see the olive trees, of course. The West Bank, and Hebron in particular, is known as the land of the olives. They are our ancestors, our lifeblood. And as I continue walking, I see my dad's favourites, the figs, and my mum's, the cactus fruit. I see my [00:25:00] grandfather's cherished grapevines, which I'm told he spoke to as softly as you would a child. They grew in the family orchard that now hosts the community centre where my cousins get married. I see those same cousins now, walking home triumphant, with giant watermelons under each arm. And then I see the oranges. And what Rashid Khalidi refers to as the over 100 year [00:25:30] long continuous colonial campaign of annihilation against the Palestinian people. We have developed a number of symbols that represent the collective Palestinian identity and our refusal to accept the dislocation and complete destruction that has been mapped out for us. These symbols that are synonymous with Palestinian writing and visual art are olives and grapes. Representing continued life. The key, representing exile and [00:26:00] the right of return. And the ya for orange, representing the stolen homeland. The fruit comes up time and time again, as it is of the land. Firmly rooted in the soil. Steadfast, just as we are. Now we've been seeing a lot of watermelons around the place. Even today, I've seen quite a few. Um, An that has been really incredible and heart warming to see. But I do feel like the Jaffa [00:26:30] Orange as a symbol of the stolen homeland can resonate with many of us here today. So, I feel like it's a perfect opportunity to teach people outside of the Palestinian community about this Jaffa Orange, and why it holds such power for us. So, as a student of history, here's a short history lesson. So... Yawtha was once a bustling port city, known for its sweet -smelling orange groves, [00:27:00] which had been grown there for hundreds of years. The oranges were known locally as the shamuti, but by the 19th century they were being shipped internationally as Yawtha oranges. They were favoured for their thick peel, which allowed the fruit to retain its freshness for two to three months when packed. But what made the fruit truly special was its sweet smell. Rapaera Tawhai, Te Karere. They were so popular that by the 1880s, Jaffa oranges had become Palestine's second largest export. [00:27:30] The citrus industry was an Arab -controlled industry, run by Jaffa's elite families. By 1918, More than half of Yaafa, of the Arabs in Yaafa were employed in this industry. They were working the groves, the storage facilities, the docks. Like, it cannot be overstated how much this industry, um, defined the region. When Zionist settler colonialism began in [00:28:00] Palestine, in the late 19th century, Yaafa became a major sight for establishing early colonies. due to its proximity to the port. The colonizers almost immediately became involved in building their own citrus industry to help the Zionist movement gain economic power in the region. They used Palestinian labor and Palestinian growing expertise and vast settler capital. And by the eve of World War II, the Zionists produced almost 50 percent of [00:28:30] citrus in Palestine. This immense growth was made possible by the British. Um... Uh, in November of 1917, the British government sent the Balfour Declaration to the Zionist Federation, granting them the title to Palestine, and outlining the end goal of establishing a Jewish national home on Palestinian land, and the British would continue their occupation until 1948. Using those three decades to aid the Zionist movement and the settlement [00:29:00] of hundreds of thousands of European Jews, the Balfour Declaration was signed. And helping them to lay the foundations of the new state of Israel. And we probably know what happens next. 1947, an inter -ethnic war breaks out between Palestinian Arabs and Zionist Jews in response to the United Nations Partition Plan, which would see the end of British occupation and, uh, the division of Palestine between [00:29:30] colonizers and the indigenous people. We will then see David Ben -Gurion establishing a secret emergency committee in December of 1947 to prepare detailed plans for the future Jewish state and issuing a declaration of independence for the State of Israel. From there, al -Nakba, an estimated 600 ,000 to 700 ,000 Palestinians being displaced, forced through violence and the fear of violence. To [00:30:00] flee their cities and villages, leaving most of their belongings behind. By the end of the war, hundreds of villages were depopulated and more were razed to the ground completely. Over 78 percent of Palestine had become territory of Israel. And Jaffa, our Jaffa, the second largest Palestinian city, was transformed from a leading Palestinian cultural and commercial hub into Tel Aviv, the Jewish colonizer majority capital city of Israel. So [00:30:30] when we talk about the Yafa orange, we are talking about all that has been brutally stolen from us, and all that we will have once more. We are saying land back, and we are saying it as a promise, because we remember, even when we are told to forget. The soul of my soul, Mahmoud Darwish once said, and the orange blossom still spreads a perfumed fragrance. And the thing is, he is right. It may be the funniest of ways, because you know those [00:31:00] classic Kiwi lollies, the Jaffas? The ones we would roll down Baldwin Street every year, the ones you spot at the supermarket every now and then? Well, those are named after Jaffa oranges. Jaffa and Jaffa. The pronunciation is different, but the story is the same. This very Kiwi thing is strangely, definitely colonially, linked to a core part of the Palestinian identity. That's the story. But the orange blossom still spreads a perfumed fragrance, all the way [00:31:30] to your local dairy. So please now, when you see those round orange chocolate treats, let the sweet aroma of Yaffa oranges reach you. And think of my people. Think of our displacement, our horror, our struggles, our love, our history, our future, and our dead. Carry Yaffa's oranges with you. Let now be the time where we learn how to hold each other's truths. Especially, especially, as those truths continue to be denied or [00:32:00] revoked by those in power. I think I've talked for long enough, but I will say this. It is essential that we do what we can to bring an end to this genocide and to help Palestinians living within Gaza as much as possible. So check out Operation Olive Branch, an initiative that has compiled the GoFundMe campaigns of families looking to escape Gaza. Thank you very much. Keep keep funding Gaza Isms and Inira who are delivering food, [00:32:30] water, medicine and hygiene kits to people in the south of Gaza again. And land back for all indigenous peoples of the world and liberation for all, kia ora. Kia ora, now we're gonna take a little break and we're gonna raise some flags we're gonna do it in silence. Um, Rangatahi Ma, if you see your flag, Peata Melbourne, Te Karere. Being nearly hooked up and you want to go raise that flag, kei a koe. You got the pride flag, [00:33:00] the transgender flag. If you see your flag and you want to raise it, no mai. But let's do some chants. Free, free, Palestine! Free, free, Palestine! Ona te tiriti! Down with white supremacy! From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! Gays for Gaza! Raids against genocide! Queers for Gaza! Raids against genocide! Queer rights are human rights! [00:33:30] Gay rights are human rights. Trans rights are human rights. My rights are human rights. New Origin rights are human rights. Prisoner right and human rights. Prisoner right and human rights. Tamariki rights and human rights. Mokopuna rights and human rights. [00:34:00] Disabled rights and human rights. Intersex rights. Rights° are human rights. Gay rights are human rights. Disabled rights are human rights. My rights are human rights. Trans rights are human rights. Migrant rights are human rights. Am I missing any? Māori rights [00:34:30] are human rights. Māori disabled rights are human rights. Māori disabled, neurodivergent, prisoner, migrant, sex worker rights. Māori rights are human rights. Free, free, Palestine! Free, free, Palestine! From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! Onna te tiriti, Down with white [00:35:00] supremacy! Meri ora, we're going to keep moving along with speakers. Right, clickety clickety clickety clickety clickety clickety clickety click click click. And they wouldn't let us fly the Tino Rangatiratanga flag and the Palestinian flag. Shame on parliamentary process. So I'm going to get my friends here to hold this flag. Rosa, if you want to come up to the stage, that would be epic. Tēnā rā tātou. Um, ka pai. I'm just going to go straight into it. Ko Rosa tōku ingoa. I want [00:35:30] to see Palestinian flags covering the walls in my whare. Reminding me that even though my government may allow genocide, that they do not decide what happens in my four walls. Reminding me to hold on to my rangatiratanga, something that can never be stolen like the land below my feet. Reminding me that even though my government may want to rewrite my histories, that I know mine, my tipuna, my whenua. Reminding me that [00:36:00] liberation doesn't start and end with one movement, but the interlocking of indigenous peoples everywhere. Reminding me of the voices of children who turn up to our rallies and lead us as we walk the streets. Reminding me that not all children in this world wait to see the people who stand with them. Reminding me that children martyred may be dancing in the skies with our tipuna too. We come to connect, to feel the breeze of the seas our [00:36:30] ancestors once knew as one. The legacy they left so far intertwined into our whenua, it cannot be undone. We know this to be true. We are loud about that too. They, the opposition government, see our past and present as mouldable, buyable and sellable. Usable always but never quite doable. They see our tikanga, reo, ahurea as commodities and smile with their clenched teeth through our mandatory waiata.[00:37:00] Though they are the ones who claim to the cameras watching the next day that we were the ones to make mockery of our own customs. We understand the future we need and the urgency of this. So close we can smell it, but you push it further away. They see urgency as a tool to undo everything about us. They join international alliances to do the same to iwi takitaki across the world. How dare they decide this on our very whenua. [00:37:30] The same papa that knows what aroha ki te tangata is. It never worked the first time and it won't work now. We turn up Palestinian flags, pride flags, white flags raised together. Indigenous, tangata whenua, tangatiriti alike. Rising like te rā. Consistent, iara, iara, a tipuna are watching us as we lay the legacy alongside them. Will our tamariki be smiling when they look back on us? [00:38:00] Tēnā rā tātou. Kia ora, klik -klik -klik mai anō, mō taku hoa. Just moved down to Pōneke from Ōtautahi. Welcome, e hoa. Can we all say welcome, Rosa? Kia ora. Flat warming at her whare. Ae, e kao. Kia ora. We're going to invite our next speakers, totally acknowledging that it's really hot, so we're going to try, um, hustle, hustle, hustle. Our next speaker, their name is Rangi. I'll let them introduce themselves. Klikki, klikki mai for Rangi tātou. [00:38:30] Tēnā rā tātou katoa. Ko wai tenei e tū nei mā raro e Paremata, uh, me Pipitia hoki, ko he uri tenei o Te Aroa Waka, o ngā iwi o Ngāti Rongomai me Ngāti Pikiao, uh, ki te rotu i te kite a Ihenga, mā raro e a Matawhaura maunga, ko wai te marae, ko te marae, ko Tapu Aikura, ko Rākea o te Whare Tipuna, ko Rangi Curtis, [00:39:00] tōku ingoa. Um, tuatahi, uh, me mihi kia Tīwhanawhana, uh, nā rātou i karakia, i karanga mai kia mātou, i, um, whakawātea tēnei, tēnei mahi, tēnei kaupapa i te rānei. Uh, he tika hoki ki te mihi, uh, kia Quack, nā nei whakahaere. Um, ki te kāi whakawhiti te reo turi hoki, tēnā koe. Um, Tautoko hoki, ngā mihi [00:39:30] katoa kua mihia, um, me ngā mihi ki te mana whenua, ko Te Atiawa, ko Taranaki whānau i tērā. Tēnā rā tātou katoa. Um, so, yeah, mihi to our mana whenua, to our speakers, um, to QUAC and to our wonderful sign language interpreter for making our day more accessible today. Um, I didn't write anything, much like my other friends. Um, but what I have done is I've written some pencil [00:40:00] scratchings on the back of an envelope. So you're very welcome for that. Um, so I really, yeah, do want to acknowledge off the top of my head, Te Whanawhana for all of their support welcoming us into Paremata today. Um, I also want to shout out to Queer Endurance Defiance QED. Um, yeah! They're a trans activist group that I'm a part of, um, and in fact next Thursday, the 14th, we will be protesting, um, in Lower Hutt Event Centre against a [00:40:30] transphobic speaker who's come there. We will be speaking freely against bigotry, so please join us on Thursday evening if you would like to also speak freely against bigotry. So today, I really want to tie together the chords of the speakers that have, um, gone before me. Uh, tie together the whakapapa, we have beautiful whakapapa that's come before, Ngati Porou, Samoa, uh, Te Tai Tokerau, tōku [00:41:00] whanaunga no Ngāti Pikiao, um, and I'm sure here today we have whakapapa not only from all over the motu, but from all over te ao. Uh, of course we had our beautiful whakapapa, Paraitini, come and share with us about the terrible tragedy that is happening over there as we speak. Um, as I've heard people speak today, not just up on the stage, but in the parade, in the hīkoi, um, conversations throughout the day, what I feel is that we're all feeling We're feeling hurt, but through that hurt we're [00:41:30] also feeling connected. There are systems failing all of us, from governments that refuse to listen to our protests against genocide, to protests going unheard, feedback windows being shortened, and urgent bills being pushed through government so they can't be opposed. So what do we have in this time when the powers that be are trying to stop us as much as possible from creating change? We have each other. Every single day, I connect with my [00:42:00] fellow tangata Māori, with my fellow takatāpui, with my fellow trans people and every day we are working together to make a better world. Whether that's supporting each other on social media through the collective grief that Affie spoke about, or whether it's getting together and protesting racist, transphobic fuckheads. Um, or whether it's just showing up to a friend's house. with some food or to help them clean their room because they're fucking depressed. There are so many things that we could be doing for each other every single [00:42:30] day and we are, and we need to be so proud of ourselves for that. Be proud that you showed up today. Be proud that you dragged that friend along. If this is your first Pride ever, welcome! We will always be here for you. We've all been brought together by collective love and a collective desire for liberation. This is a battle that's been going on forever. Our memory of Georgina Beyer speaks to [00:43:00] that. But also look at the tamariki that are at these protests. I've seen so many children. They are our future. Our mokopuna, our rangatira for tomorrow. Um, so I want to close with a quote that I think we've probably all heard. Nau te raurau, nā kou te raurau, kā ora ai te iwi. With your basket, my basket, we will all live. With your resources, my resources, we will all live.[00:43:30] From each according to his ability, to each according to his need, we can come together and make this world a better place. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā rā tātou katoa. Piki piki mai e noa e te whanau. Piki, nukapu, piki piki. I don't know if that's the right word. Now the next speaker is a rangatira, um, lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely person. My best friend, no jokes, jokes, jokes. Ko Whaea Elizabeth, Whaea [00:44:00] Doctor Elizabeth Kerekere. Can we welcome her to the stage please? Nga mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa. Such a joy, such a privilege to call you on to this place today. I was inspired, uh, by Dina's korero and thinking about what is the vision that we want for all of us amidst everything that is hard, [00:44:30] everything that we struggle against, but we still keep fighting. Because for centuries, they have tried to get rid of us, and they fail every time. No matter what this government does, eventually, they will fail as well. Because this, right here. And I'm just saying, if you're thinking about running for office, there's an election in three [00:45:00] years. Uh, we need some more queer people in there, we need trans, non -binary, intersex people in there. But I'm thinking of my vision. Because the first thing is around whakapapa. That we can respect all of the people who have come here to make this, uh, their country. And make this their home. And that as a place here in Gaza, where we can respect the culture. That [00:45:30] is, that is amongst us. We can respect all of the languages, the spiritualities that we bring into this space. That our mana is upheld. Our right to speak for ourselves. Our right to make decisions. Our right to give informed consent based on the best knowledge we have available. And making sure we collect the knowledge that we need for ourselves and the work we all have to do. Think [00:46:00] about mauri. There's things we have to fight, there's things we have to fix, but at the same time, celebrate all of the awesomeness that is amongst us. All of the creativity, our writers, our dancers, our poets. All the people who come and organise an event like this. All of you being here today. All the things that say this is who we are, this is how we express ourselves. And [00:46:30] that's basic respect for that. Absolute, basic. And joy, and love, and celebration for that. Think about our tapu. The sacredness of our bodies, our bodily integrity, and often of our mind, the sacredness has been breached. I think of a future, and in some parts of our lives it's still happening, where those... Those things are healed. [00:47:00] Our bodies are healed because we get the care we need. We get the support we need. Our mind is tau. We're at peace. Regardless of the circumstances around us. That nobody has the right to take the tapu away from us. Our bodies are sacred. Our minds are sacred. Everybody should be respecting that. I think about [00:47:30] Wairua, our spirituality and whatever way it is that we express it. But it's also about our connection to the whenua, to the land. That might be the land that you came from before you came to this country. Uh, and places here that you connect to that speak to you. And that interconnectedness of all things in the universe that our spirituality is about. That nobody, no religious organisation has the right to interfere with that process.[00:48:00] It is our connection with our deities, with our sacred and spiritual beings, but with the land. Tikanga, it's how we do things. There's a place for this, here, this thing here that happens, laws. But they're the blunt end of change. In this country. Conversion practices law changed because of this happening year after year [00:48:30] after, after decade. Here is where change happens. Always have faith. Always have faith in that long term. Because they've tried to get rid of us for centuries and they have failed because we win every time. Kia ora. Free, [00:49:00] free, free, free, free, from the river to the sea. Palestine will be free. Queer rights are human rights. Queer rights are human rights. All rights are human rights. All rights are human rights. Onna te tiriti. Down with white supremacy. Onna te tiriti. Down with white supremacy. Mariora. Mariora kia koutou. Give yourselves a little bit of a click. It ain't awesome. Cracks Voice is on a haere. [00:49:30] Going to Hawaiki probably, I don't know. Ka pai. We have another speaker. We have tahi, rua, toru, fa. Fa more speakers. And so I'm going to hurry the fa up. And... Kopi, I learnt, uh, my wananga that I go to is Whakarauna. Whakarauna. He aha te whaka? Jokes, jokes, jokes. Ka pai. Our next speaker is, um, my lovely friend, oh wait, other best friend. Best friends with all of these fellas behind me. Um, ko [00:50:00] Tebi. Ko Tebi tianei. No, my Tebi. Kia ora koutou. E te taha o toko mama no Kotorana ahau, E te taha o toku papa no Engarangi ahau. E whanau mai ahau e Engarangi, E tupu aki au e Engarangi me Whakatu. Kei te noho au te aue Kairangi, No reira, e mihi ana ki te mana whenua o tenei rohi. Ko Te Ati Awa, ko Ngati Toa rangatira, Ko Taranaki whanau, kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. [00:50:30] Ko Tabby Besley tōku ingoa. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. I'm a short white woman with very green hair, wearing a t -shirt that says Challenge Transphobia over a colourful dress. I've been asked to speak today about the current government attacks on our rights, and particularly how we can get involved, especially our rangatahi. Um, I spend most of my time as the Managing Director of Inside Out Koaro. Hopefully you know us. Um, as well as [00:51:00] working as a counsellor, um, with, uh, particularly our trans rangatahi. Um. Last night we celebrated the Pride Youth Ball, which is about providing an opportunity for all our young people that may not feel safe or have the same experience attending a ball at their high school. Um, or for so many of those young people that have had to leave school early and actually don't have that equal access to education. Um, so I'm pretty tired from partying with the rangatahi last night. Um, if you haven't heard of it before and you're young, come, come along next year. [00:51:30] Um. And at midnight I got into bed and wrote a few notes to try and make my brain work now. Um, before I go on I just really want to acknowledge all of our previous speakers, um, Quack and the Wellington Pride Board, um, for making the kaupapa of this hikoi such a cross -movement event. For none of us are free until we are all free. We are not only our rainbow identities and it is so important right now to be showing up in support of our whānau in Palestine and tangata whenua here in [00:52:00] Aotearoa who are being completely threatened by the current government and their outright racism. The current government are coming for the rights of marginalised people and that has never been more explicit. We can't fight these changes alone and we're going to need you all alongside us in that. Education and the safety in our schools is a big passion for me. And relationships and sexuality education saves lives.[00:52:30] Education about our identities, our histories, saves lives. Nobody should have to grow up feeling alone and othered in who they are just because some people in here think that it's not age appropriate to teach about. Trans rangatahi have just as much right to belong as anyone else, and it is their human right to be safe at school. Inside Out will be doing everything we can to prevent the relationships and sexuality education [00:53:00] guidelines being replaced with something more conservative. But a really important point to remember is that they are only guidelines. There is only so much power, it is a lot to acknowledge that, but there is only so much that these politicians and the government do have over us. They were only ever guidelines, which is why so many schools still don't teach this stuff well, even though there are really good guidelines encouraging them to. So what that means is that schools actually have the right to determine what they teach in consultation with their school communities, and we want [00:53:30] that teaching to include all colours of our rainbow. So we need to support schools, parents, and rangatahi to speak out against the replacement of the guidelines and come up with what they want to be teaching in their schools and what is needed to get it. Yeah, to kind of prevent these horrific, um, statistics that we know are currently facing our young people. The coalition agreement also attacks other things, um, particularly, um, attacking trans women and their participation in community sport, which is just [00:54:00] disgusting. Um, there will be action around this, uh, there's already petitions against the RSE guidelines and, um, around the, um, The sport one that you can sign and get involved with. Um, And I would really just encourage you to, yeah, to know that there are people fighting for these who cared deeply and we will do what we can. And we want you to support that. And so keep an eye out on social media, um, on you know, the parliament petitions website and that kind of thing to get involved. Um, and [00:54:30] support because we need to send a very clear message that we're not standing, um, Yeah, not standing for what New Zealand First wants, who, so ironically, are the ones that brought in these Relationship and Sexuality Education Guidelines that are great in the first place. So, we need, really need Tracey Martin to come out, who put those out, and talk to her colleagues, I think. Another thing we really have to think about is what's helpful for us as individuals and organisations that we're part of, and what we can put in place to take care of ourselves and each other. [00:55:00] I think the concept of community care is so important as we go through these levels. years and forever in life, but particularly these few years where we know it's going to be a hard time. There's a lot of talk about self -care, but we need to wrap each other around in that community care as well. Last year in particular was a horrific year, um, particularly for our trans whanau. For Inside Out, we were constantly receiving hate, um, and, um, Yeah, a really difficult time. The majority of our [00:55:30] staff are trans, and so doing that work, I just really always want to acknowledge them, and what they do, because they're amazing. What got me and many of our team through is, um, finding space to embrace queer joy and silliness. This work is super heavy, and so we have to find those moments of light, like the youth ball last night. And celebrate the [00:56:00] successes we're having in our mahi too. Despite all the challenges that we're talking about, we've never had the public awareness that we have now, the legislative protections we have now, the funding for organisations like ours that we have now. I know that is just the first few drops in a bucket in regard to where we need to be. Um, but having worked in our communities for over the last decade, I feel like the pace has picked up and we're getting wins even if they are small ones every day. So, kind of in that spirit, I just want you to invite you [00:56:30] all to take part in the Pride Festival and all the beautiful, diverse events that have been put on for our communities. In particular, Inside Out have come together to celebrate our queer joy through the symbol of the broccoli. Um, we've got an exhibition on at Thistle Hall next week on Cuba Street, uh, celebrating broccoli and queer joy. If you are very confused and want to know more about that, please come to the exhibition and you'll learn more. Thank you. But the point is that it's so important to find those moments of, yeah, of joy and silliness and being [00:57:00] together that aren't always on the front line. A few other ways that you can get involved. Volunteering. Many organizations, um, that are here today and in our communities are always desperate for volunteers. Getting in role, um, governance roles on boards, um, like our beautiful Api, our co -chair. We're so lucky to have, um, young people like them leading our organization. Um, if you're a bit older and got some money, um, setting up a regular donation, fundraising in your [00:57:30] workplace, um, many of us are on social media, and there's opportunities there to be amplifying messages, um, sharing petition signatories, having these conversations in your homes with your, um, colleagues, your friends and whanau where it's safe to, especially if you're someone with privilege. Um, there's going to be many bills that we are going to want to be putting in submissions on as they come through Parliament. We're going to be wanting to say no, that is not what we want to see. Um, and remembering again that is across, [00:58:00] across movements. So the things that are coming for our beneficiaries, um, for Māori, for so many communities, um, our young people in the justice system, there's so many issues. And we want your voices. If you have the energy, um, often there's amazing organizations making templates, submissions that can help give you ideas. And politically, where do we want to be when it comes to the next election? Now is the time if you have that energy to get involved in a political movement that does align with you and start to [00:58:30] strategize and work towards, um, that next election so that we are in a much, much better place and we can move back to progressing our legislative rights. But once again, there's only so much power that is held in there and there's a lot that we can do from the grassroots. It can be so hard to hold on to hope when there's so much hate and fear and destruction around us. But I do deeply believe that we all have the power to make a difference. And together we can make the kind of waves that crash and scare you because they're so powerful. I love [00:59:00] the ocean if you can't tell. We wouldn't be gathering today if it hadn't been for those people crashing before us, fighting tirelessly for our rights. I founded Inside Out when I was 19 in response to how unsafe our schools were for Rainbow Rangatahi. Today we are one of the largest rainbow orgs in the country, supporting over 60 percent of secondary schools and many primary and intermediates to make rainbow inclusive schools in Kura. We provide training to hundreds of workplaces every year. We provide youth development programmes and we do [00:59:30] advocacy to change our laws and social policy to make things better. Let me believe in the power of you and us collectively, like people believed in me and stood with me and Inside Out over these years. Let's make waves that scare this government from far away from daring to come for us like this again. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. And our next lovely speaker, Te Whānau, you may have seen [01:00:00] a couple petitions floating around on the interwebs, one by Labour and one by NZEI. Adam is a beautiful kāiako and he's here to represent, uh, the NZEI, the teachers' union. Teach her something! Let's all welcome Adam to the stage! Uh, kia ora koutou. Um, I'm gonna be honest, I only have talking points, so forgive me, because I only really got the brief properly on Thursday night, but I'm so passionate about [01:00:30] this that here I am. Um, Quack is amazing, I wanna say that. It's not their fault whatsoever. Um, I actually, before I say anything else, before I say who I am, where I'm from, what I do, I actually want to say Totoko Inside Out, majorly. They have been so supportive, they actually ran a workshop for NZEI last year where we had over 50 educators in Tāmaki Makaurau turn up because they care about the rights of our young people, [01:01:00] about our tamariki, about our rangatahi, and without them... I would still be going, what am I doing with a rainbow network? Um, so, to explain that a little bit more, My name is Adam, I am a part of NZEI Te Reo Raua. For simplicity's sake, thank everyone in education, except for the secondary school teachers, they have their own union, but we work together, especially with the petition we've launched. Um, thank you. I am the Rainbow Network [01:01:30] convener for Tamaki Makaurau. So we have a Rainbow Network for our teachers, for our educators. Uh, it's still growing and we were at Big Gay Out where we launched our petition to save and protect our relationship and sexuality education guidelines. Because our tamariki are taonga. We deserve, they need to be protected. Uh, a whakatauki I've got that I really want to share, and then I'll try and demystify a little bit. From what hasn't been mentioned, um, is [01:02:00] this. I hara takutaua e te taua takitahi, e nari ki he taua takatini. So my success should not be bestowed onto me alone. It was not individual success, but the success of a collective. It is only when we work together, whether it be NZEI, Inside Out. Uh, PPTA, I should give them a shout out. Uh, Wellington Pride, whether it be with the Greens and the Labour Party, and Te Pāte Māori supporting [01:02:30] this kaupapa, we really need to stand behind everyone, and it's a success for everyone. So, um, while I speak, by the way, to demystify a little bit, because I know that's one thing that I need to do as a kaiako, it's what I do every day, uh, demystify those strange concepts. If what I'm saying, uh, rings true for you, if you're like, yes, I want to support that petition, also, pull out your phones again, go on Instagram. Um, if you search New Educators or NZEI Te [01:03:00] Reo Raua, uh, there on the stories is a link to the petition, and sign it, share it, get it out there, um, because I think it has huge meaning, uh, when we have a kaupapa. That is supported by kāiako for the ākonga that we teach. Uh, has a huge, huge meaning behind it. So, I, the little bits that I want to point out quickly is these guidelines that are in place, while they're only a guideline, they've been called for by rangatahi [01:03:30] for like the last ten years. It's young people, like everyone here, that have actually asked for a better education when it comes to health and relationships. It also, and this is what I think is very telling, the main focus on learning is about being inclusive. It's not about just, uh, heteronormative, uh, akonga. It is a, it, it is, that's like me [01:04:00] waiting for the bells to stop ringing. Um, it is for our rainbow youth. Making sure that we understand what it means to be different. If we have a different gender than what we're born with. If we, um, identify with a different sexuality than what people consider the norm. Not that there's such a thing as normal anyway. It also has clear references to Māori worldview. To having a harora, um, perspective [01:04:30] about health. It also makes references to our Pasifika communities, about making sure that it's not going to be a discussion that's embarrassing, but actually every ākonga can take something away from it and actually learn about what they need to learn. And it also has references to our disabled community. That's four groups and one set of guidelines that this government have said is a woke ideology. [01:05:00] And yet they want to get rid of them. And yet, I don't see anything woke about being Māori, Pasifika, part of a rainbow community, or being disabled. There is nothing woke there whatsoever. It's merely saying we want to look after our young people. We want to look after, uh, the rangatahi coming up so that there are even more speakers here that can speak on issues that are relevant to us all. Um, And if you talk to anyone that goes, [01:05:30] but there's an agenda, I just want to point out as a teacher, I know this very clearly. If someone doesn't agree with the curriculum when it comes to the health, they can actually ask for their child to be withdrawn from that lesson. So, I think for the greater good, we actually need these guidelines, we need a great curriculum in place, and we need to fight for it. Because actually, everyone sitting here today, uh, I'm pretty sure most of us would have gone to school at some point in our lives.[01:06:00] And my big thing for me, for how we got our rainbow network is, be who you needed when you were younger. I didn't know it when I was younger, but I needed a queer teacher, happy to come along, well, to their very first ever Pride March, and speak and share about how young rainbow people need to be acknowledged in our schools. Kia ora. Kia [01:06:30] ora. Kia ora, tēnā koe, Adam. Pikipiki mai mō, Adam. Klikki, kiri, kiri, kiri, kili, kili, kili, kili, kili, kili. Kā pai. Our next kai korero is from the Labour Party. Ko Shannon Halbert. Tōku tōna ingoa. And they're going to speak about the them, and their mahi, and the kaupapa. And we're going to stick on the kaupapa. Aren't we politicians? We're not going to make this about anything else. Welcome Shannon to the stage, koutou.[01:07:00] Me mihi kawana ki a koe Papa Richard mo to karakia, karakia i tēnei ata. A me ngā whānau, whānau i [01:07:30] tautoko mai i roto i te whenu o te Whare Pāremata. Nō reire mihi ana ki a koutou. Ki ngā kaiūringi i mate rātou, moe mai. Whai Georgina, moe mai. Moe mai rā. Me ngā kairungi o tātou Whare Pāremata, Dr Aisha Verrill, Kahurangi Taylor, Me ngā [01:08:00] tangata Pāremata katoa, Kei te mihi ki a koutou i tēnei rā. Kia koe e te whanaunga, Hoki, Elizabeth, Kei te pai. I'll just talk over them. E te whanaunga, E te tuahine, Whānaunga e, For Elizabeth. Tōku whanaunga no Rongowhakaata, tēnā rā watu ki a koe. Nō reira, ka mihi ki a koutou. [01:08:30] Ah, thank you everyone for being here. Nō Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Kahungunu, Mō Kai Pātea nui tonu, Ngāti Whiktikaupeka oku iwi, Ko Shannon Halbert ahau, te kai kōrero mō te Rōpū Reipa, Tēnā rā watu ki a koutou. Thank you everyone for... The privilege to march alongside of you, in a hikoi not just about today, but as many of us have started the hikoi [01:09:00] in Tamaki Makaurau as a collection of our pride events, to here we are today, next weekend, or Tautahi, where we stand in solidarity for our rainbow community together. And unapologetically, I look over even to the bus today and it says you are loved. And in the nationwide hikoi, where my job is just to tautoko the mahi of our organisers, of our [01:09:30] kaitua, our volunteers, to stand alongside of you. It's for the values of kotahitanga. It's for us, and unapologetically, it's in the fight for aroha and inclusion. Because in this country, in Aotearoa, New Zealand, we must stand together. And those of us [01:10:00] who have felt the discrimination of the last couple of years, who have felt deeply the homophobia, the transphobia, the misogyny, and the absolute disgrace of haters in this country, here we are. Standing together as a rainbow community and allies. I[01:10:30] just want to ask, because I do miss our Tino Rangatiratanga flag. If you have a Tino Rangatiratanga flag with you, may I invite you just to come and stand up on the steps while we speak. And I'll hurry up quack, but seeing all of you out there, I feel deeply passionate about our kaupapa today. Because as your parliamentarians, [01:11:00] each of us stood here over the last four weeks in the fight for our sovereignty. Our fight for te reo rangatiratanga. Our fight for our health sovereignty. And the challenge ahead, because next, they're coming for our rainbow community. And our sovereignty. And when we say Toi Tu Te Tiriti, we absolutely mean it. And we won't stand aside [01:11:30] and let this government meddle with Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Because, as our kaumātua said, we have come too far not to go further. We have done too much not to do more. And that applies, yes, to Te Ao Māori, but it also applies to our rainbow community too. And while we stand today talking about petitions... To protect sexuality [01:12:00] guidelines that protect our tamariki and our kura. Those are progressive steps that our Labour Greens government have been able to do. But that is also what's at threat, because while they're tinkering with Te Tiriti, they're also planning to take those guidelines away. And what's at the heart of it... is our tamariki mokopuna, our kids. And it [01:12:30] was teachers, it was parents, that asked us to do work, to put those guidelines in place, so that we can start to protect our takatāpui kids properly. And so together today, sign our petitions. Get your own MPs to sign them, because not all of your MPs will be from Labour. All the Greens or Te Pāti Māori? [01:13:00] And at the same time, while you challenge us as your representatives for our rainbow community, as spokespeople for our rainbow community I put the challenge to you also, go and challenge them, seek them out in your own communities, meet with them, take photos of those meetings, and write down what they say. Because this shameless government will tell you all the things that [01:13:30] you want to hear. They will tell your family all the things that you want to hear, just like they did in the election. And here we are with our sovereignty at stake. So let's play them at their own game. So can I thank you all for being you. Know that you are loved. And today we stand with aroha and in the fight for inclusion in Aotearoa and New [01:14:00] Zealand. Nō reira, mihi ana ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, mauri ora ki a koutou katoa. Kia ora, kia ora, tēnā tātou. I made our own little hapū over here, sheesh. Ae, mauri ora. We have one more kai korero today. Thank you for... Responding in the way that we did not respond. Tēnā rā tātou. One more speaker from Te Pati Kakariki. The Greens, my hoa, Kahurangi Carters. Can we welcome her to the [01:14:30] stage? Oh my gosh! Look at you! Let's just give yourselves a little picky up. Yes! You're looking absolutely stunning today. And are you all feeling hot? Yeah, like, I know you're hot, but like, are you all feeling hot? Like, I've got sweat dripping down my legs. Now, you really turned up today, and I see lots of familiar faces [01:15:00] who have been turning up to our Toitūti Tiriti marches, to our Free Palestine marches, to our Accessibility marches, because we understand that we are not free until we are all free. That's why we keep turning up for each other. Look at these signs. We've got deaf and disabled queers over here. Yes. We got all kids deserve queer education. That's right. [01:15:30] We've got, oh, none of us are free until we're all free. Yes. Gays for Gaza. And I see one over there that says... Your mum gay. I am so honoured to be here today. Look, I'm a bit of a cheese ball. Yes, I'm dressed as cheese. But also, you know, we all bring our special strengths. So, hopefully you can bear with me because I'm just so... So, so happy to be here. [01:16:00] Thank you so much to our organisers, Quack, Craig, the Māori wardens are here. I always feel so safe when they're around. Thank you for being here. And to all the volunteers who are keeping us safe. And all the other organisations and groups who keep turning up. Look, we have had a long history of amazing rainbow activists, amazing disability activists. We've had amazing Justice for Palestine activists, [01:16:30] and our Toitū Te Tiriti activists. And they have paved the way for us to be strong, and now it is our turn, so that our future generations, and every generation after that, don't have to fight. They can just exist in their amazingness. So, yeah, that's right, that's right. That is the future that we, we can have and that we must have. Now, my phone died as, like, two seconds before I got up here, so we're just gonna riff.[01:17:00] Um, let's talk about Toitū Te Tiriti, shall we? Toitu Te Tiriti is because we honour Te Tiriti. Because it is a blueprint for us to live in haamari with Ranginui and Papatūānuku and with each other. That is why we say Toitu Te Tiriti. We talk about justice for Palestine because we say no to genocide. We say no to white phosphorus. We say no to starving children. We say no [01:17:30] to Zionism. We say no to, to the occupation. That's right. We are here for a free Palestine. And when we talk about Mana Takatāpoi, Oh my gosh. We are beautiful. We are here. We are strong. It gives me so much hope when I look around and see all of you caring for each other, loving each other, empowering each other, uplifting each other. [01:18:00] You know, my name's Kahu. I am the Green Party Rainbow Spokesperson. Here's my colleague Lan Farm, and we had lots of other Green MPs who wanted to be here, but everyone's a little bit sick at the moment. We've had a hard couple of weeks, so, you know, it's really, um, really, um, manifesting physically at the moment. Now I really, really wanted to be the Rainbow Spokesperson. [01:18:30] Why? Because it's the most fun. Look at you all. You are so fun. Yeah. And, and I see your light. Your light shines so bright. It shines brighter than the sun. Right here today it shines so bright for so many people who you give hope to and we need your light now more than ever. So keep shining your light bright. Now I'm gonna finish up. We've got Elliot here from our [01:19:00] Inclusive Greens. His sign says Deaf, Disabled and Queer and last night he taught us some sign language. So do we all want to learn a little bit right now? It's really easy to remember. Okay, so gay is. That's right, you're all so good. Lesbian. Ah. Bisexual. That's right, that's right. Trans. And then we're going to make a [01:19:30] rainbow for queer. How beautiful. He takatāpui ahau. I'm so proud to be here with you and our community. We are strong, we are beautiful and we have our light shining bright and no one can ever dampen that light. Keep shining bright everyone. I love you. Klikki klikki mai whakahi kahi kahi, mauri ora. Ka pai, that's the end of our kaupapa today, Te Whanau. I'm going to invite Savvy onto the stage just to give some words of [01:20:00] encouragement about leaving today, leaving safely. Um, and maybe I'll make her do the karakia, who knows, who knows. Mauri ora. Klikki klikki for Savvy! Uh, mauri ora ano. Um, I just want to reiterate, please do get home safely, um, go with some people that you trust home, um, those of you who are catching public transport, please be safe, um, do reach out if you need any, um, support, um, don't [01:20:30] mind that sign that's over here on that side, Hacking Gap. Um, cool. I was going to throw my bottle, but I'm wearing hot pink. So, I'll be sprung. And I'll probably be arrested, but please don't get arrested. Go straight home. Get ready for whatever yous are going to do tonight. Um, yous look amazing. Be amazing. Um, and yeah. Koina taku, ano. But mauri ora.[01:21:00] Take your rubbish home please. Kia ora, kia ora. Um, nothing else. If you want to take the signs, feel free to take them. If not, bring them please to one place at the front so that we can get, uh, so we can store them safely. We don't want to find any lying around the streets because that's hashtag gonna get us a bad rap. Um, same with the Palestinian flags, you can keep them. Tino rangatiratanga flags, you can keep them. The water, the sunscreen, I don't know. We're gonna, uh, debrief with the marshals in a little bit. Tēnā rā tātou. Thank you for [01:21:30] coming. Thank you for hearing the call. Thank you for standing with these kaupapa. Toi Tū Te Tiriti. Free Palestine. Mana Takatāpui. Ia rā, ia rā. Pakipaki mai kia koutou katoa. Free, free! Free, free! Palestine! From the river to the sea! Palestine will be free! Gays for Gaza! Gays against genocide! Quest against genocide! [01:22:00] Down with white supremacy! Down with white supremacy! Queer rights are human rights. Deaf rights are human rights. Disabled rights are human rights. Migrant rights are human rights. Intersex rights are human rights. Tamariki rights are human rights. Your [01:22:30] rights are human rights. Your rights are human rights! Sex worker rights are human rights! Sex worker rights are human rights! Tamariki rights are human rights! Tamariki rights are human rights! Mokopuna rights are human rights! Mokopuna rights are human rights! Trans rights are human rights! Trans rights are human rights! Trans rights are human rights! Gay rights are human rights! Gay rights are human rights! Queer rights are human rights! Deaf rights are human rights! Māori Deaf rights are human [01:23:00] rights! Māori Deaf rights are human rights! Kia ora tātou. I love you, I love you, I love you. Talk to that person next to you, tell them you love them. We love each other. Mauri ora. Let us close with karakia. Tēnā koe. Love you too. Oh, getting bashed with the rainbow umbrella. Me karakia tātou. Connecting with our hā. Breathing in. Hā ki roto. Hā ki waho. Kia tau te mauri e kōkiri nei, I ngā [01:23:30] piki, me ngā hike, Ko te rangimāri e tāku rapu nei, Tuturu whiti whakamaua kia teina. Haumie, huie! Should we have a waiata? Should we do tū tira mai? E tū tātou mo te waiata tautoko Kia koutou katoa, Ki te mana whenua o te rohe nei. Tēnei te mihi. Tū tira? Ok. I was on The Voice once, so I'm going to actually lead the singing. Jokes, jokes, jokes. Oh, we don't do it, anyways. I'm going to say, Tutira toru [01:24:00] wha, and then we're going to jump in and we're going to do it twice. Ka pai! Tutira mai toru wha Tutira mai ngā iwi Aue! Tātou, tātou e Tūtira mai ngā iwi, tātou, tātou e. Whaea te maramatanga, me te aroha. E [01:24:30] ngā iwi, kia kotahi, kia kotahira, tātou, tātou e. Ano, tūtira mai! Tūtira mai ngā iwi, tātou, tātou e. Tūtira mai ngā iwi, tātou, tātou e. Whai a te maramatanga, me [01:25:00] te aroha. Hei ngā iwi, ki a kota patahi, ki a kota hira. Tātou, tātou, e! Tātou! Tātou! Tātou! Hei! Kia ora koutou! Kia ora koutou! Thank you to the marshals, our Māori wardens, our volunteers, to you, to our speakers, to the chairs, to the paper, to the trees, to Christopher Luxon's apartment across [01:25:30] the road! Kia ora rā koutou katoa! Get home safe! Kia ora mai! Signs at the front! If you wanna not keep them, I won't be offended.
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