Māori Party candidate right to be angry, wrong to harass Casey Costello
Hone Harawira criticises former Te Pāti Māori candidate for confronting Casey Costello
Māori activist and former MP Hone Harawira has criticised a recent Te Pāti Māori candidate for confronting Cabinet Minister Casey Costello at a food court on Tuesday evening.
Pere Huriwai-Seger, who ran on Te Pāti Māori’s list in 2023, sat down – uninvited – across the table from New Zealand First MP Casey Costello at a Wellsford food court.
He told RNZ he had earlier talked to Costello in the corridor, where the minister asked that he “move on”, but instead he approached her table and continued, including saying to Costello, “of course you’re gonna get it”.
The encounter comes in the same month Dot Jones, wife of Cabinet Minister Shane Jones, was allegedly assaulted at Auckland Airport.
A spotlight is on MPs’ public safety with the Justice Minister and Speaker looking into how to better protect parliamentarians, and a new report showing increased harassment of female politicians.
When asked whether his actions were appropriate in that wider political context, Huriwai-Seger pointed to the “bullying” that is “allowed” to go on in the House.
A spokesperson for Costello told RNZ she did not want to comment on the incident.
In an Instagram post Huriwai-Seger explained how the encounter played out: “I said that we see through their politics of division and distraction, like focusing on what words people use while avoiding the real issues”.
Huriwai-Seger said Costello told him to “move on” but instead he sat down at her table and told her she could not expect to “drive all this division and harm in our communities and then just come in here like nothing”.
“I said, ‘of course you’re gonna get it’.”
He claimed the remark prompted Costello to stand and ask whether he was threatening her.
“She raised her voice and tried her best to intimidate me. I remained seated and said, ‘you’re gonna get my words’. I said, you’re a politician paid for by the public, and should expect to be questioned for the harm you’re causing.”
Former Māori Party and Mana MP Hone Harawira has come to Costello’s defence – criticising Huriwai-Seger in a Facebook comment, saying he stepped over the line.
“I’m not the biggest fan of Casey Costello but I don’t like you pushing youself into a woman’s space and I don’t like you telling her she’s ‘gonna get it’,” Harawira said.
“Pat youself on the back if you think that makes you a big man, but don’t try that on me or my wife,” Harawira wrote.
When RNZ contacted Harawira on Thursday, he said he had nothing further to add.
Let’s be clear.
Everyone who is aware should be righteously angry at Casey Costello.
She is a truly awful alt-Right Lobbyist turned Politician who has gerrymandered smoking taxes to enable a bloody $216million sweetheart deal for the Tobacco Industry she was once involved lobbying for at the Atlas adjacent Taxpayers’ Union!
She was involved in the terribly racist Hobson’s Pledge and she is a mutation of the democratic process that has enabled a strain of super lobbyist politician we haven’t seen before.
Politically she is cancer.
So you should be VERY angry at her existence and policies!
You should certainly let her know what an appalling politician she is if you cross paths with her – HOWEVER, once you have let her know (in a non threatening manner) how despicable her policies are, you have an obligation as a citizen to step back.
Our righteous indignation at her and her policies aside, you have to back down and leave her alone. Joining her table uninvited in the way Pere did was totally out of line to continue his opinion after he had already criticised her.
We can’t allow our anger to become abuse or harassment. Casey Costello is still a fellow citizen and no one deserves harassment or abuse while in public in a private capacity.
To his credit, it’s a point Pere acknowledges…
Huriwai-Seger has shared Harawira’s criticism of him on his social media, saying he appreciated the feedback, and he believes Costello took his comments the wrong way.
“I did this because I felt honour-bound to speak up.
“Regarding pushing into her space. I don’t believe I crossed the line, but I’m open to hearing otherwise. I respect the kōrero. I also respect our rights to protest. That’s where I’m at.”
…this friction comes at a time when the rumour of the snap election The Daily Blog first warned of last month are finally trickling out to the mainstream media…
Why Peters has stepped up his undermining of Luxon
Greens tighten candidate selection process and preparing for snap election
‘We are ready to go’: Labour talks up potential for snap election
…as The Daily Blog argued LAST MONTH, the deep budget cuts in Nicola Willis’ next Budget are so extreme they are panicking NZ First.
There are back channels occurring between NZF and Labour as a faction inside Labour start to panic that the extreme nature of the Māori Party would make including them in any future Government dangerous and a vote killer for Labour.
Occurrences like Pere’s become a magnifier for those Māori Party critics.
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
Maybe these politicians need to take a good look at why these people are pissed off .This is the same woman who wants every one to die from smoking so the government can give land lords more money .Then we have Jones wanting to destroy the whole environment and he wonders why he and his mrs got a blast .If you are hell bent on not listening to what the voters really want then expect a backlash .Also these two were not elected, they free loaded into government on the assumption by Luxon he would be knighted .As an old work mate used to say, assumption is the mother of all fuck ups ,how right he being proven right now .
It’s all part of the flawed political system we have here in NZ, throwing mud, dildoes and even real fisty cuff punch ups between politicians in parliament.
Flawed but entertaining
Casey Costello. If you can;t say anything nice, say nothing at all.
Doesn’t mean seriously ‘EW’ thinkings are not allowed in that space (going forward). There goes one seriously ERGLY specimen
Cancer Casey got hurt feelings,well cry me a river
Nah, Costello betrayed her people and her nation. She’s lucky she’s not facing justice through the law yet.
Costello deserves what she gets, ex copper, extreme right Hobsons and Atlas supporter, Tobacco pimp, sunk a world leading smoking eradication programme while lying to Parliament and the country about her “research”.
I don’t go into people’s personal space myself, us lefties are often too polite, but she should get it that bent politicians are not well liked.
too true Tiger she is disgusting and a disgrace to women and her children if she has any .She may be a they .
Thanks to Martyn and Hone for calling this garbage out. I can’t imagine how differently everyone supporting this behavior would react if someone did something like this to one of “your” politicians.
There’s a reason I let Andrew Little eat in peace despite him constantly insulting and denigrating migrants like myself when he was in Parliament. No need to get abusive and aggressive.
Say your peace quickly and then give the MP some room. Or be ready to understand and accept that this type of stuff will have to go both ways.
Wellsford has a food court!
Who’d have thought!
Also Wellsford is a small country town where it’s perfectly usual to go up to people and sit down and talk. It’s not some scary Auckland city suburb where plonking yourself next to someone in a food court actually may be threatening. Don’t be a politician if you don’t want to talk to the public, if you are out in public, especially a little hick town like Wellsford. That guy spoke for me and countless others so good on him.
I believe that Pere Huriwai-Seger was within his rights. These politicians have power over people and they do a lot of harm. The system provides no means whereby the people can call them to account. (Yes, I know about elections every three or four years, and I also know they make no difference). So if you meet a politician in a food court it is understandable that you should give him or her a piece of your mind.
Will that do much good? It might or it might not. It might just allow you to let off a bit of steam. It might make the politician think again about whether they can be grossly corrupt with impunity. Who knows? Clearly the more positive approach is to build rangatiratanga institutions which give people real power and make leaders genuinely accountable.
In the meantime I don’t mind if these politicians run the risk of meeting real people in a food court in Wellsford. If they don’t like it, let them stick with meeting their lobbyists in some fancy restaurant in the Wynyard Quarter.