Hikoi to Parliament: Police officers identified supporting hīkoi protest ‘to be spoken to’

• Uniformed police officers seen supporting the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti will be spoken to by their managers.
• About 42,000 people attended the protest in Wellington against the Government’s Treaty Principles Bill.
• Police Minister Mark Mitchell emphasised the importance of maintaining political neutrality for public confidence.

Uniformed police officers snapped appearing to support the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti have been identified and will be spoken to by their managers.

The protest march to Parliament was launched in opposition to the Government’s policies towards Māori, primarily the Treaty Principles Bill.

Police estimated about 42,000 people attended the protest in Wellington, with attendees filling Parliament’s front lawn and surrounding streets.

But photographs have since emerged of uniformed officers helping to paint protest signs, while others held up the Tino Rangatiratanga flag.

One person commented online, “Don’t play politics on the job, no matter how proud and lovely it makes you feel at the time”.

“You think you’re keeping peace? Right up until it escalates in an instant. You are not helping, you are blurring the lines and diminishing the public’s trust and confidence in you.”

Uniformed police officers seen supporting the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti will be spoken to by their managers.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast he was aware of the reports and has discussed the matter with the Police Commissioner.

“In terms of maintaining public confidence, it’s very important that our police services are being seen as politically neutral,” he said.

“I don’t know what these young constables were thinking, they were not politically engaged. However, the important thing is that our police are seen to be politically neutral – it’s critically important for maintaining public confidence,” he said.

“The police and the Police Commissioner are aware of it and they do have internal processes to deal with it.”

A police spokesperson told the Herald they were aware of the images depicting officers with flags and signs relating to the hīkoi.

“Police are not aware of any formal complaints, but were made aware of the images – and this was escalated to managers for consideration.

“These staff have been identified and reminded of the guidelines and expectations for sworn officers with regard to political neutrality, and were to be spoken to by their managers.”

A Police Association spokesperson told the Herald it was a police matter, and the association has had no involvement.

Uniformed police officers seen supporting the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti will be spoken to by their managers.

One of the speakers at the hīkoi on Tuesday, Ngāti Toa chief executive Helmut Modlik, told the crowd the day marked the start of something new.

“From this day forward, our hapū, our iwi, we will never stop until Te Tiriti o Waitangi is respected in this land.

“The time for change is here. The whole world is watching us to see what happens to Aotearoa,” Modlik said.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon did not front up to the hīkoi but some National MPs did, including Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka.

Asked later if New Zealand was “unified”, Luxon said there was no doubt the country was going through a “challenging time”.

“We do need to come together and we do need to make sure that we have a great future as a country whether you’re Māori or non-Māori. I think we have innate potential in this great country of ours and our job is to realise that.”

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