The title of this recording is "Pride Hīkoi (2024)". It is described as: Audio from the Pride Hīkoi. The hīkoi began in Civic Square and walked along Willis Street, into Lambton Quay, ending at Parliament. It was recorded in Civic Square / Te Ngākau, Civic Square/Te Ngākau, Wellington on the 9th March 2024. This is a recording of an event and features the voices of Craig Watson, Gabi Hemsley, Quack Pirihi, Richard Tankersley and Sandra Marekino. It also includes interviews conducted by Gareth Watkins. Their names are spelt correctly, but may appear incorrectly spelt later in the document. The duration of the recording is 34 minutes, but this may not reflect the actual length of the event. A list of correctly spelt content keywords and tags can be found at the end of this document. A brief description of the recording is: Audio from the Pride Hīkoi. The hīkoi began in Civic Square and walked along Willis Street, into Lambton Quay, ending at Parliament. The content in the recording covers the 2020s decade. A brief summary of the recording is: The Pride Hīkoi of 2024, held in Wellington on 9 March, was a powerful demonstration of solidarity, visibility, and advocacy for the rights of Aotearoa New Zealand’s rainbow and takatāpui communities. Beginning in Civic Square/Te Ngākau and making its way through the city to Parliament, the event combined a celebration of identity with urgent calls for social and political change. The hīkoi featured a diverse range of voices, including organisers, volunteers, and participants who shared their personal experiences and motivations for taking part. Quack Pirihi, one of the key organisers, described the hīkoi as a necessary response to ongoing threats to the rights of takatāpui and rainbow communities. The event’s core kaupapa (principles) included Toitū Te Tiriti, Free Palestine, and Mana Takatāpui, each reflecting broader concerns about human rights, indigenous sovereignty, and the protection of legislative gains for marginalised communities. Placards carried messages affirming queer identity and advocating for inclusive education and protections for trans and gender-diverse people. The presence of Palestinian flags alongside Tino Rangatiratanga flags reinforced a sense of global solidarity, linking struggles for justice across different contexts. Many participants shared deeply personal reasons for attending. One marcher, who had recently undergone gender-affirming surgery, spoke of the importance of visibility and representation, particularly in the face of increasing transphobia in the media and political discourse. For them, participating in the hīkoi was a way to affirm their existence and help others in similar situations feel seen and supported. Another attendee, attending their first Pride event, highlighted the power of collective action in fostering community and normalising queer presence in public spaces. Richard Tankersley, a long-standing advocate for takatāpui rights, reflected on the historical progress made since their early activism in the 1980s. While acknowledging gains, they also expressed concern about political regression, particularly for younger generations who may feel the impact of legislative rollbacks more acutely. They emphasised the importance of public demonstrations like the hīkoi in holding decision-makers accountable and maintaining momentum for change. The atmosphere at Civic Square before the march was one of anticipation and unity. Volunteers in high-visibility vests coordinated logistics, while participants gathered with banners and flags. The event was opened with a karakia (prayer), grounding the hīkoi in a sense of collective purpose. Chants such as “Queer rights are human rights” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” echoed through the streets, amplifying the intersectional nature of the protest. The event was not without its challenges. Organisers had to navigate differing opinions within the community, particularly around the presence of uniformed police, the Department of Corrections, and the New Zealand Defence Force at Pride events. Despite these tensions, there was a strong emphasis on ensuring cultural and community safety, with organisers working hard to create an inclusive and respectful space for all participants. Festival Director Craig Watson spoke about the broader Wellington Pride Festival, of which the hīkoi was a key component. The festival featured a range of events, including a youth ball, poetry readings, and the evening’s Pride Parade and street celebrations. Watson acknowledged the challenges of organising such a large-scale event but stressed the importance of maintaining both celebratory and activist elements within Pride. The hīkoi also served as a reminder of the resilience of the rainbow community. Many attendees noted that despite ongoing struggles, events like this reinforced their sense of belonging and hope for the future. There was recognition of the progress made over the decades, but also a shared understanding that vigilance and activism remain crucial in the face of new political and social challenges. The full transcription of the recording begins:  Kia ora, my name is Quack. I'm a cheeky rangatahi Māori from Te Tai Tokerau. I've just moved down to Pōneke and I'm leading the Pride Hikoi for the Wellington Pride Festival. We're in the Civic Square with all of our marshals waiting for the community to come. They've got some lovely placards and banners, Palestinian flags waving in the air, as well as our Tino Rangatiratanga flags. Can you describe, uh, the weather today? The weather is giving sunny. It's not giving wellington. It's giving sunny and I think Ngā Tua Māori said that we can have the sun because it's important to celebrate our queer and whakatāpī communities. And you, you mentioned some of the placards. Can you tell me what's on them? So, uh, placards have a variety of messaging. Our three core kaupapa this year are Toitū Te Tiriti, Free Palestine and Mana Takatāpui, which refers to the protection of rainbow and Takatāpui legislation at the threat of this colonising coalition government, New Zealand First, the ACT Party and National. So our signs read affirming messages like Mana Takatāpui, we have always been here. Queers for Free Palestine. Children deserve to learn about their queerness. Children deserve sex education, queer education, gender education. And just positive, affirming messages that try to connect all of the kaupapa together, which they are. What's it been like for you personally to organise this hikoi? It's been interesting managing a bunch of, uh, community relationships. There has been some raruraru that we've had to work through this week. Um, when topics like Police at Pride, Department of Corrections at Pride, the New Zealand Defence Force at Pride, and leading this hikoi in a way that is culturally appropriate in terms of having all the community consultation. Been on the phone from what I feels like two weeks ago, non -stop. Um, which leads me to feel very safe in the security of, of cultural safety for this hikoi, as well as the community safety and all the thought we've put into health, safety and managing risk. What does it mean for you to, to march today? We march today so that mokopuna tomorrow won't have to. We're marching for the protection of their rights, for the evolution of their rights, so that they can stand in their tino rangatiratanga. We're marching to create an equitable Aotearoa where Takatāupi and Rainbow communities thrive. And we're doing that with our whānau, with our community, and with these hard conversations in mind. And just finally, if you could just paint a picture for me about what we can see in front of us. I see all the gays in the high -vis vests, all the signs, all the flags, people starting to walk up. I see the progress pride flags. I see the trans pride flag. I see our Māori wardens who have just come and taken some of our rainbow umbrellas. I see people sitting, enjoying, waiting for this beautiful hikoi, this beautiful moment together with our community. Hi, my name is Roxy. Um, we are currently in Civic Square. Waiting for the He Koi to start in about half an hour maybe. Why was it important for you to be here today? Uh, I don't, I don't, well I guess I've just never been to one before I want, I don't know, I just want to be like more part of the community. Why do you think, uh, these Pride events and particularly this He Koi is, is important? I don't know, I guess we just need to make ourselves like see there's like a presence with some force behind it and they're like, what? Won't be moved and can't be removed, you know, if that make, if that makes sense to just like normalise this more in the like public space. And there's a real strength in marching together, isn't there? Yeah, yeah, yeah I mean from just like this stuff we've been doing these past few months with like the Palestine stuff, yeah it's been really good. It's been so good to be actually like, Doing something, even if it's not much, even if it's just like a tiny like drop in the ocean. An ocean is just like a bunch of drops. Hi, I'm Esha, um, I use they, he pronouns. Um, I've been outed... Trans non -binary for about a year now. Um, out as non -binary to family and friends and my kids. Um, was meant to be here with my family and kids today, but it's just me on my own. My husband's looking after the sick kids at home. I've got three little ones. Um, under the age of 8, but been questioning being trans for a few years now and have recently had top surgery about 4 weeks ago. So why was it important for you to be here today? It's important for me to show my respect and representation and just to help others in the community really I guess. Last year was very difficult for me, um, newly trans, really struggling with a lot of things, um, and so it was important for me to be here this year and to say, look, I've survived those really difficult times, um, by the only thing, doing the only thing I had to do to survive, which was taking steps to transition. Earlier this year there was a huge increase in transphobia in the media, and you know, Posi Parker's visit was what, just a year ago. I mean, can you paint a picture of what the climate is like now? Not that different. Pretty much the same as it has been a year ago, the media is still pretty transphobic. Yeah, I would say we've not really made any progress in the last year in that regard. I guess that's why... Events like this where there's a high visibility are so important, yeah? Yeah, absolutely. Now that I'm comfortable with myself and have realised that I wasn't just being crazy inside and that this is actually my identity and who I am, I'm going to be loud and proud about it, I guess. Um, yeah. Showing people, educating people on who we are, who we are in the community, that trans people are everywhere. Queer people are everywhere and they're not something to be afraid of. So if somebody was hearing this online and they weren't um, they've never been to a Pride event before, what would you say to them? Go check out the GMA, Gender Minorities New Zealand website and maybe join a local Pride Facebook group and just see what people have to say before commenting yourself. Take some time and just... Yeah, maybe look at your community and join some things in the community that are pride related. Or will just help you question your boundaries, uh, your values and why you hold those values. My name's Gabby, I use any pronouns, and I'm seeing a bunch of amazing people here to volunteer for an amazing He Koi that's about to happen today. Is this the first He Koi you've been on? Yes. So it's very exciting. I'm not quite sure what's going on, but it seems it's going to be a lot of fun. So, why was it important for you to be here? Um, because I think it's good to come and show my support for everyone and anyone who needs it to come down and... Use my voice, which is very loud, to spread our, what we support and stuff. Can you just paint a picture of some of the things that you can see? Um, so we're sitting around here, there's not a bunch of flags waving around, amazing volunteers in some bright, Yellow Jackets organising this great event that's going to happen today. So, um, you said this is the first Pride Hekoe, but have you done other Pride events? Um, I, last night I did the Youth Pride Wall. Um, and I've done, I've been to many of those. Um, and I also organise, I run the Youth QSA at my school. So that's also why I wanted to come down and do that. Meet a bunch of lovely people that can help and give their opinions on that as well. What was the youth ball like? It was amazing, there were so many amazing people. Um, 13 to 18 everyone could show up. It was a good theme, everyone dressed up their best, music. Drag queens, live performers, great music, runway, it was such a good night. We all just sung, screamed, as you can tell my voice is a bit ruined from um, screaming all night, so yeah. So, so how many people um, generally go to these? About 200 people showed up, I think, ballpark. I'm not very good at counting numbers, but it was very busy, very loud, great time. Wow, because like, when I was at school, I mean, that would have just been completely unheard of. I mean, wow. Yes, it's so good about how far we've come in society, but there are still places we do need to go, but we're getting there, which is what I love. And having kind of like queer joy. Yes, yes, which is really important to support, which is just being unapologetically yourself. Which is something I definitely support, just being you and not really caring about what others have to say. So this last year has been really hard in terms of the amount of kind of transphobia and kind of just ugliness in the world. Um, how is it now? Can you paint a picture of what's it like nowadays? Um, it's compared to what it used to be, it is a lot better. But I feel like with a lot of things going around, especially around the world, we're taking many steps back. Because people want everyone to fit in boxes, and that's not cool for a lot of people. But um, I do think we're further on than what we used to be, say 50 years ago, but we're also... I keeping back a couple of steps from say where we were 10 years ago. So if somebody was listening to this online that hadn't been to a Pride event or hadn't been to a Youth ball What would you say to them? Um, go along and just try it out. You can always if it's not your thing you can always step aside, but it's definitely a great time to go meet people be around your own people and to be able to feel like you can be yourself With a bunch of people cos there's no harm in having a go Which is what I love. I'm Sandra Mulligan and we're in the Civic Square in Wellington. Where all the action happens. This is not your first hikoi, is it? It's not my first. I honestly don't know how many hikois I've been at. I've lost count. How many fingers do you have? I've lost count, but I am... I say I really much enjoy myself being at the hikoi. Amongst the crowd, screaming. It's in my head of being there with people and knowing that we were doing something right. Hopefully it does turn out right at the end of the day. And we get what we wish for, what we fight for. So with the Palestinians, or whatever's happening in Palestine, hopefully we, our government will listen to us. It's the main thing that our government listens to us. It likes them to get off its arse and do what is good for the Palestinians. This is what we're doing for them. We're doing this hikoi today for them and for our Palestinian friends and family in New Zealand. Can we just turn around and can you just describe what we can see in front of us? What I see in front of me is the Maori flag and the Palestinian flags. We all come from one class, and we're all of one blood. We may be from different countries around the world, but we all combine today for our friends and for Palestine, and our voice voicing for them. So tell me about the kind of interconnectedness between, um, I mean, this is a, this is a, uh, a queer Hekaui for, for, for Pride, but also for Palestine. So tell me about that kind of interconnectedness. It's coming as one, as one family. No matter what colour culture we form, whether we like to be amongst the queers. Kia ora, I'm Richard Tankersley, um, I'm a member of the Takatāpui community here in Te Whanganui -a -Tara. We're in Te Whanganui -a -Tara and we're in a place called Te Ngākau or Civic Square. Uh, which is really adjacent to the, um, the main civic administration for the city. Uh, and it's a gathering place for our people. Um, and we're, we're gathering. So, that's what's happening right now. Can you describe what you can see in front of you? Yep, what I can see in front of me is, um, People assembling ready to hīkoi. It's a hīkoi that is going to take us down to the Parliament. And there are a whole heap of people here carrying a few messages. Um, and those messages are really diverse. Um, but they're also, uh, all, uh, the main thing is all about us being takatāpui, about us being part of our various rainbow communities, uh, and standing up in pride, uh, for those, for those identities, um, and also joining together. Um, with some messages that, uh, hopefully people think are going to be, um, at least presented to, uh, the people that make decisions in our lives. So, that's what I can see. So I can see some marshals, um, some people that are here to help look after us. I can see the people, uh, who are gonna, uh, hikoi with us, gathering. Um, it's not due to leave for another half an hour or so, so. There's quite a lot of people here already, so that's feeling really positive. I can see a lot of people wearing, um, rainbow colours in the various forms of our rainbow flags. Um, and our, and emblems. Uh, I can see some people with some, um, uh, uh, tino rangatiratanga flags. Uh, I can see some of the banners are in support, they're saying Queers for Palestine. Um, so obviously concerned for the indigenous peoples or the, uh, The people in, in, in Gaza in particular who are having a really rough time, whoever they are. Um, and, um, but also I can see flags on banners as well that are really statements of identity for ourselves as well as alongside those political message, messages. Um, one of the, uh, signs that I really love is, um, I'm Takatāpui, I'm a taonga, I'm a treasure, alongside these other messages, and that's one of my favourite ones here at the moment. The last year has been particularly rough for our trans communities with so much stuff in the media. Can you paint a picture, well, and I guess with Posey Parker being here last year, this time last year, can you paint a picture of... Um, at the moment, right here and right now, people are, I think, there's quite a buzz of excitement that we're gathering and doing things. Uh, I know that that, uh, is sitting on top of some feelings of real concern that are expressed in our communities about... Uh, things that have been fought for being rolled back. Um, and particularly for our young people coming through. Um, those of us that have been around for a long time might feel a little bit more secure with the ups and downs of... of political life moving and the ebbs and flows of those things, Um, but for some people, especially our reasonably young people, this, um, the new, uh, era, and some of the things that have been announced as part of the coalition deal feel like real push backs. Um, real retrograde steps in the human rights that our young people have felt like they're growing up enjoying. Um, so there's some real concerns I think being expressed by them, um, in the lead up to this and to other expressions of concern that are happening. One of the great things is that we're in a free and democratic society and we're able to do this. We're able to gather, we're able to express our opinion, we're able to take our stories, um, to the, to the steps of our parliament. Um, and to share those things in public, um, without, uh, undue limitation on our, on our, um, on our, on our democratic rights. Uh, especially rights to assemble and rights to freedom of expression. So, I think people are ready to celebrate. Even when they feel like some other ones or some other games are being moved at least onto the back without being removed. Now, this is not your first pride event? Ahhh no not my first GRADIO Can you recall what your first Pride event ever was? So I did my coming out in Christchurch. I was there, um, before the Homosexual Law Reform Bill in 1986. So, um, my first Pride events were around the university, um, where I was part of the university, uh, um, queer students group, um, and we had on -campus, um, Pride events, uh, and we did move out into the community, but they were very quite tangitive in some respects, um, we didn't feel like we had legal rights, legal standing, but we still had pride, um, and that grew into, in Christchurch we had an annual, uh, we called it Gay and Lesbian Fair. Through the 80s, um, and of course there was quite a strong party culture which we all engaged in, in, uh, with, with, uh, should I say, gay abandon. Um, so there was all of that. Um, but it was really, for me, was within the student movement. Yep. Uh, that's a long time ago now. Can you, could you ever have imagined back then that you would be attending something like this today? Oh, probably not. I mean, it was, it was aspirational that we might. Um, but when we started these things, and there were people that had started these things a long time before I came along, um, the Stonewall, um, experience, you know, that was in 1969, you know, I think I was seven years old at that point, so, um, but. The whole idea of being aspirational sometimes means that we need to be working on moving in a direction rather than understanding what the destination may be. Um, so I think this is a fabulous expression of those aspirations all this time ago. But I'm not as much of a visionary as to have been able to foresee this 40 years down the track. Yeah, hi, I'm Craig Watson, Festival Director for the Wellington Pride Festival, and today we're at Civic Square. It's a beautiful sunny day isn't it? It is, it's amazing the weather is beautiful, not a cloud in the sky and the temperature is hot. Can you describe what we can see around us? Yeah, so there's a lot of construction going on with civic square but um the place is starting to hum with people got lots of fluoro vests with all of our amazing marshals who are going to keep us all safe today but i can see lots of people coming into the grounds with beautiful banners and flags representing who they are. How is the Pride festival going so far? Tēnā koe! A large number of events and we've been able to promote those through our website and after Facebook and they've been really well attended. Last night I was at a poetry reading and it was incredibly well attended and people are just really having a good vibe this festival, yeah. commentator and today is going to be such a big day isn't it because not only have we got the Henikoi this morning. Yes yeah, we've got the parade tonight as well and the streets celebration so, yeah it'll be a huge day hopefully today is something for everybody. those who want to fight. Today, this morning, the hikoi is for them, those who want to celebrate, the parade is for them, and those who want to do both, well, they have a big day. What's it been like organising this year's festival? Yeah, it's been, it's been hard. It's been, um, you know, volunteering and organising things like this is, is difficult, um, but, uh, and takes a lot of work. But it's really important, I think, when you've got skills, to be able to give them back to the community, and I really enjoy doing what I do. I've spoken to a few people that say this is their first Pride event, um, which is really exciting. What would you say to somebody online, if they haven't been to a Pride event, what would you say to them? I would just say welcome. It's so good that you can feel safe to come out and be public and on display about who you are in this important part of your life. Um, and share it with others and join with us. Why is it important for you to be here? Uh, I think, I, I mean, for me the hikoi is such an important part of a festival. There are things that we need to stand up for and be proud of. Um, pride came from a protest and, and it's important that we continue to do that protest. Ka pai, we're going to get started now. I'd love, unless you're, uh, don't want to stand in the sun. Um, I'd love everyone to congregate around this area. Just so we can start with karakia and all the formal proceedings of today's hikoi. Nau mai, nau mai, placards, water, face masks, high fives, mauri ora, kia ora. A tīhei mauri ora. Tū ake e te tuatahi hei tuohu. A ki tēnei te mauka tapu a mātairangi e tū ana. Hei whakarere hau mō tātou, ka whakaroko atu ki te tangi o te keo. Tui, tui, tui, tuia, hui, hui, hui, hui a tātou katoa. Ko tāna kōrero, ko tāna karaka mai ki a mātou i tēnei rā. Ka tuohu hoki ki te mana whenua o tēnei rohe. Te Atiawa, Taranaki Whānui, Whakawhitiatu ki Ngāti Toa Rangatira, me hoki Ngāti Raukawa, ko e nei ka mana whenua o Tūpoko o Te Eka Māui, no reira, ah, kei te mihi tonu ki a koutou. No reira, naumai, naumai, haramai, i raro i te kaupapa nanui o te, o Takatāpuitaka, potono o te ao whānui. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Kua hau tēnei, he uri o Kaitahu -Kāti -Māmoe, Waitaha, no te Waipounamu. He pau kōrero mo Tiwhanawhana i tēnei rā, nō reira, tēnā koutou, rauraka tēramā. Kia ora and good morning. And my first, uh, greetings to the sacred maunga of Matairangi. Some of us call Mount Victoria that stands here as a shelter for us as we gather below and we listen to the spirit bird tangi te keo atop that mountain that calls us to gather and to weave together. That's the kaupapa of today. The kaupapa today is celebrating takatāpuitanga. Our various rainbow identities, our rainbowness and all our different shades and colours. As we move together and we have some messages that people have crafted that want to share those with people who make decisions that impact on our lives. That's why we're here. My name is Richard Tankersley. I'm a descendant of the people of Kaitahu, Kāti Māmoi, Waitaha in the South Island. And I'm also a speaking representative this morning of Te Whanawhana, our Takatāpui Māori Rōpū here in Te Whānganui -a -Tara. I've got Marlin with me somewhere, he's going to be walking with me, there we are, kia ora. But the remainder of Te Whanawhana will be at Parliament, sharing in the welcome to us as we arrive there. That's why we're here, and that's why I'm here. So my, uh, job is to let you know that we're going to start now, uh, our community briefing. We're going to start with karakia. Before we move on, um, I will be in the front of the hīkoi. And there's a karakia, which is a karakia that we have for beginning a journey. And it's a karakia of opening the pathway, so that'll be the... So that'll be just as we move off once I've done that, I'm going to get out of the way and the parade marshals and there'll be people leading chants within the crowd, um, and the leadership of the Hikoi will take over at that point. So kia ora koutou, kia ora quack, thank you for, um, for having given me a chance to offer this briefing. Um, so I've got a karakia now just to gather us and it's a karakia that talks about the beginnings of time. Uh, it's the physical beginnings of all things, but also the development of the spirit of the people, uh, within that framework. And of course, we are all part of that wairua, all part of that spirit. Ko iowhata tā, ko iowhata mai. Ko hekeheke i nuku, ko hekeheke i papa. Ka puta, ka meara katoa. Ko te kore, te kore, ka hu mai, ka potaki wā, no ka potaki wā, ka hu mai, kao katoa. Ka puta ki waho i rotu i tēnei ao mārama, te ira takata, ki te whai ao ki te ao mārama. Tīhai, mauri ora, tūturu mai, kia whakamaua, kia tīna, tīna, haumi e, hui e, tāiki e. So, great that a lot of you know how we finish our karakia. My version is tūturu mai kia whakamaua kia tīnā, everyone shouts tīnā, haumi e, hui e, taiki e. So if we can have loud ones of those, I'll use that a couple of times. When we're heading into the, um, into the parliamentary boundaries, uh, there's another clearing of the pathway that I will be doing in response to the kāranga. We'll be able to, uh, tīnā and taiki e that as well. So kia ora, let me just finish this. By saying that one more time. Join in as loudly as you can. Tūturu mai ki a whakamaua Kia tīna, tīna Haumi e, hui e, Tāiki e. Kia ora tātou. Kia ora matua. Pakipaki mai ki a matua tātou. Kia ora. Looking beautiful today. Kia ora mai tātou. This is going to be a health and safety briefing. The goal of this kaupapa e te whānau Is to go to Parliament, get there safely, and be cheeky hotutus. Stand for what we want to stand for. We're standing for Palestine. We're standing for Toitū Te Tiriti. And we're standing for the protection of rainbow and takatāpui legislation. Kia ora. Which means we conduct ourself with mana. We ignore all the anti -protesters. You may... See, there may be signs, there may be people screaming, but we're louder than them. Let's show them! Free! Free! Palestine! Free! Free! Palestine! From the river to the sea! Palestine will be free! From the river to the sea! Palestine will be free! Oooh! Kia ora! Look after yourself, e te whānau. We have water bottles, we have some snacks. Like I said, cost a living crisis. Come grab yourself a muesli bar. Rawe! Now we're up to the chants, the fun part. I introduced some new ones. I've only just moved to Pōneke and decided to lead the hikoi. Don't know what I was on about. But let's go through some chants. They might be new, they might not be new. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! Free, free, Palestine! Free, free, Palestine! So this is a new one. They're swear words. Sorry Wellington Pride Festival, but we're swearing today. It goes like this. Ona te tiriti, fuck white supremacy. Kia ora. Now this one was gifted by a friend of a friend of a friend. It goes, see more, say less, stop this racist mess. Seymour, say less, stop this racist mess. Seymour, say less, stop this racist mess. Seymour, say less, stop this racist mess. O Ngāti Tiriti, fuck white supremacy. O Ngāti Tiriti, fuck white supremacy. Put the kaha into the face. Whake te whānau. We hoha. Ona te Tiriti! What right to privacy! My last thing I'll say before we start getting everyone into formation is when we look at these kaupapa, when we look about the threat to our rainbow rights and legislation, our takatāpui rights and legislation, the threat to the indigenous sovereignty of tangata whenua Māori in Aotearoa, when we think about all the lives lost, all the lives at threat, and all of those living at And the genocide in Palestine at the hands of the IDF, Israel, is not real. That's the mana we want to carry. So balance being cheeky with recognising the severity of the situation. And that's why we will not retaliate to any paruparuhuas who come up in our hikoi today. Ka pai katoa? Kia ora tatou. Tuia mai i roka, tuia mai i raro, tuia mai i roto, tuia mai i waho. Kia tāu, kia tātou katoa, te mauri tū me te mauri ora, haumi e, hui e, tāi aiki e. E waire ki tēnei te pituone tapu. Ka urara, ka takata, tai ki roto o Takaroa ki te moana o te Whanganui -a -tara. Ka tū tēnei a hauki tēnei te pituone tapu. Hei Te Teiro, kairuka. Te mauka tapu taitai o Matairangi. Te kōrepe nui, te kōrepe roa. Te kumu toto awa, te wai matahi awa. Ko tū, ko roko. He puta kariki no roko. Mai e, mai e, mai te tipua. Mai e, mai e, mai te tawhito. I hara mai rā koe. I whaka hōtou nuku. I whaka hōtou raki. Ko tau manawa, ko tōku manawa, ko tāne kairia. Tūtere mai kia whakamaua, kia tīna! Tīna! Haumie! Huie! Haumie! Green, Green, Green! Greener Paradise! Free, free, free, freedom Palestine! From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! Boycott Starbucks! Boycott Starbucks! Boycott Starbucks! Boycott Starbucks! Boycott Starbucks! Starbucks is one of the targets of the boycott, divest, sanction movement for Palestine. If you support Palestinians, if you don't want Ghazans dying, continuing to die... Boycott Starbucks! Boycott Starbucks! Boycott Starbucks! Boycott Starbucks! Boycott Starbucks! Boycott Starbucks! What do we want? Peaceful! When do we want it? Now! Cease fire! When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Cease fire! When do we want it? Now! Free! Free! Palestine! Free! Free! Palestine! Queer rights are human rights! Queer rights are human rights! Queer rights are human rights! Queer rights are human rights! We're not going to give an account to ourselves or to God. We're not going to give an account to religion, we're going to give an account to God. We don't follow organised religion, we just follow the Lord Jesus Christ, Yahshua, the Messiah of Israel. That's who we follow, Yahshua, the Messiah of Israel. That's the way God chose to do it. I'm not Jewish, but God sent this man to Israel. He was born in Israel, and he was born, and he died on Passover, not Easter. There's many things in Christianity today that are not part of the original code. We are rights are human rights! Trans rights are human rights! Gay rights are human rights! Boycott Israel! Boycott Pizza Hut! Boycott Laxton! Boycott Seymour! Boycott Winston! Boycott Winston! Boycott Winston! Boycott Winston! Boycott Winston! Boycott Winston! Fuck you Winston! Fuck you Winstone! Boycott Israel! Boycott Israel! Boycott McDonald's! Boycott McDonald's! We anti -human rights activists. Slavery is a human right! Gay rights are human rights! Gay rights are human rights! Trans rights are human rights! Trans rights are human rights! Down with white supremacy! Down with white supremacy! Down with white supremacy! Down with white supremacy! Down with white supremacy! Down with white supremacy! Down with white supremacy! Down with white supremacy! The full transcription of the recording ends. A list of keywords/tags describing the recording follow. These tags contain the correct spellings of names and places which may have been incorrectly spelt earlier in the document. The tags are seperated by a semi-colon: 2020s ; Aotearoa New Zealand ; Christchurch ; Christianity ; Christopher Luxon ; Civic Square / Te Ngākau ; Craig Watson ; David Seymour ; Department of Corrections ; Events ; Gabi Hemsley ; Gay and Lesbian Fair (Christchurch) ; Gaza ; Gender Minorities Aotearoa (GMA) ; God ; Homosexual Law Reform ; Israel ; Job ; McDonalds ; Mount Victoria ; New Zealand First ; Palestine ; Parliament grounds ; People ; Pizza Hut ; Posie Parker ; Pride Parade (Wellington) ; Quack Pirihi ; Richard Tankersley ; Sandra Marekino ; Space ; Starbucks ; Stonewall riots (1969) ; Stuff ; Taranaki ; Tino Rangatiratanga ; Tīwhanawhana ; Waitaha ; We Are Who We Are ; Wellington ; Wellington Pride ; Wellington Pride Festival ; Wellington Pride Festival (2024) ; Wellington Pride Parade (2024) ; Whanganui ; Winston Peters ; Youth ; balance ; binary ; bird ; blood ; boundaries ; boxes ; boycott ; celebration ; children ; class ; code ; colour ; coming out ; community ; connect ; culture ; democratic rights ; drag ; dressed up ; education ; expression ; face ; family ; feelings ; fire ; flags ; freedom ; freedom of expression ; friends ; fun ; gay ; gender ; gender education ; genocide ; government ; growing up ; health ; homosexual ; hui ; human rights ; hīkoi ; identity ; indigenous peoples ; journey ; karakia ; kaupapa ; law ; leadership ; legal rights ; legislation ; lesbian ; listening ; love ; mana ; mana whenua ; march ; media ; mokopuna ; movement ; music ; non-binary ; organised ; organising ; other ; parade ; pizza ; poetry ; police ; pride ; privacy ; pronouns ; protection ; protest ; queer ; queer joy ; queer rights ; queer straight alliance (QSA) ; questioning ; rainbow ; rangatahi ; rangatira ; rangatiratanga ; reading ; relationships ; religion ; representation ; respect ; safety ; school ; sea ; security ; sex ; sex education ; signs ; sovereignty ; strength ; support ; surgery ; takatāpui ; take over ; tangata whenua ; tangi ; taonga ; tapu ; time ; top ; top surgery ; tram ; trans ; trans pride ; transition ; transphobia ; understanding ; university ; values ; visibility ; voice ; volunteer ; wairua ; walking ; water ; website ; whenua ; white supremacy ; wish ; work ; yellow ; youth ball. The original recording can be heard at this website https://www.pridenz.com/pride_hikoi_2024.html. Please note that this document may contain errors or omissions - you should always refer back to the original recording to confirm content.