Security Worries Stymie Whānau Sessions At Pride Week Taranaki

Friday, 18 April 2025, 1:10 pm
Article: Craig Ashworth - Local Democracy Reporting

Keeping whānau safe from homophobic abuse and threats has thwarted information sessions planned for Taranaki’s Pride Week, Rainbow Youth says.

The advocacy and peer support group organised hui to help whānau and friends of young queers to understand the diversity of sexual orientation and gender expression – and to learn supportive ways of talking about it.

But they kept the venues confidential in the wake of threatening and violent disruptions of Rainbow events across New Zealand.

Other youth events in the Pride celebrations last week were held openly with lots of people around – as is typical of Pride events – but organisers say they had to ensure the safety of everyone attending.

Rainbow Youth’s Taranaki coordinator Wesley Milne said the whānau information sessions required an online sign-up, so organisers had phone numbers and email addresses of those interested.

“To have a chat and ensure that they were all good to come along, essentially.”

Milne said the extra security filter was probably enough to discourage people from signing up for what is, for many, such a sensitive discussion.

“It could be uncertainty about ‘where is this actually going to be?’ And wanting to know where you're heading to and what you're signing up for.”

He said Rainbow Youth cancelled the meetings and instead invited those who registered to meet for a personal kōrero.

“People are responsive and booking in to catch up with us.”

“Parents love their kids, and they just want to know how to understand their rangatahi.”

“We wanted to provide a space and an opportunity to do that. But we also wanted to keep it safe.”

The safety worries come after Destiny Church protestors disrupted a children’s library session by a drag king at Te Atatū Community Centre, and then temporarily blocked Auckland’s Rainbow Parade and Wellington’s Pride Parade.

Destiny’s leader Bishop Brian Tamaki urged his Man Up group to “storm the library” which led to them punching, pushing and shoving their way inside.

About 30 toddlers, young children and adults had to barricade themselves inside, RNZ reported.

Concerns over reaction to Instagram posts by non-binary Green MP Benjamin Doyle also rattled the community. Doyle said they’d copped an outpouring of abuse including death threats.

New Plymouth businessman Rhys Williams was later revealed to be behind a toxic online campaign, The Post reported.

New Zealand First-linked Williams set up an X account @2ETEKA in February 2023, and has since posted 18,000 tweets.

The account “called for more dirt on Doyle and relentlessly targeted political opponents with slurs, smears and thinly veiled allegations of paedophilia”, Stuff reported.

Milne said Pride week events included visits to rainbow students at three high schools they regularly work with, and to the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki.

Pride Taranaki trustee Lance Mepham said organisers supported Rainbow Youth speaking up about threats they face, so others could focus on positive Pride.

He said they deliberately chose events that gave opponents little to protest about.

“We just don't want to give them any oxygen.”

“We're a smaller city anyway – we don't have the capacity to do parades and a Big Gay Out.”

Milne and Mepham both said recent bigotry had prompted non-queer allies to come out in strength supporting Pride events.

New Plymouth District Council provided venues at the Len Lye Cinema and Puke Ariki library and museum.

Council staff had a Pride morning coffee shout, as did Te Whatu Ora at Taranaki Base Hospital.

The Centre City shopping mall had a Pride display and Good Home pub hosted a quiz night, while the West Baptist Church held a service for Pride.

“We're thankful, you know, for all that support, because it wasn't always that way, especially around religion,” said Mepham.

He said along with community activist Ngāneko Eriwata they’re already planning more for Taranaki takatāpui next year.

“When I was a young man I never had all that. There wasn't a lot for young Māori.”

New Plymouth’s gay Labour list MP Glen Bennett said it was terrible that young people had to consider carefully how to meet safely.

But contrary to regional stereotypes he was proud Taranaki largely avoided the recent “hate and aggression” because locals were so connected.

“You can't hide behind a placard or a terrible Facebook post here – because someone's going to know you and someone in that family or that community is going to challenge you and say ‘this is not right’.”

“Calling out homophobia, transphobia is something that we should be doing and highlighting during Pride Week but it also should be a massive celebration.

“The fact that I can marry the man I love and walk down Devon Street holding his hand to me is a celebration of how far we've come.”

New Plymouth’s mayor said he opened Pride Week this year and last “because they asked” and because NPDC supported the rainbow community,

Mayor Neil Holdom said the council’s goal was that everybody “knows that this is a place where they should be able to be who they want to be”.

“It's disappointing that we're getting to a state in our society where there's a heightened risk of events essentially being sabotaged or ambushed by one group of people looking to marginalise another group for political or financial gain.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air

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