A respected Christchurch Māori leader is warning the community about ‘nasty’ pamphlets being distributed in letterboxes by a group claiming to be an independent Ngāi Tahu support organisation.
In a Facebook post, Te Maire Tau (Ūpoko of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, a hapū of Ngāi Tahu) said the pamphlets were being delivered across Christchurch and criticised the group behind them.
“The Chair of this group signs off with the name ‘Mangere Pukukai O’Regan (Lazy Greedy Ngāi Tahu), which indicates their nasty, underhanded nature,” Tau wrote.
He also dismissed the legitimacy of the group, saying, “This is not a Ngāi Tahu Group; our photograph of the elderly person delivering the pamphlets would also confirm that suspicion.”
Te Maire is the director of the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre at the University of Canterbury
Tau said he shared the warning to inform both Ngāi Tahu members and the wider Christchurch public.
“If you receive these pamphlets, throw them in the rubbish bin. They do not require a reaction. The pamphlets do not require commentary as they feed into the rhetoric of New Zealand’s fringe groups that see conspiracy everywhere.”
