Protester dressed in KKK outfit marches into Gallagher Group's Hamilton office

Tuesday, 28 November 2017

Taitimu Maipi leaves the Gallagher Group building on Kahikatea Drive.

A man dressed in a makeshift white robe with KKK splashed on the front has marched on the Gallagher Group's Hamilton office in protest at the chief executive's Treaty of Waitangi stance.

Taitimu Maipi entered the company's Kahikatea Drive office on Tuesday morning.

Sir William Gallagher has stuck by comments he made during a speech to business leaders at Waikato Stadium on Friday night, calling the Treaty of Waitangi fraudulent.

He asked to speak to company head Sir William Gallagher, who called the Treaty of Waitangi a farce in a speech to Waikato business people on Friday.

Gallagher Group staff locked the doors as Maipi sat down in the lobby. He could be seen animatedly speaking to a staffer, before leaving without incident.

Waikato-Tainui chairwoman Parekawhia McLean said New Zealanders should not allow such opinions to go unchallenged.

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'She said it wasn't the view of the Gallagher staff, and that [Sir William] isn't here. But I don't believe them,' Maipi said from behind his robe.

'I just wanted to make a strong point. People are going to make comments and it's going to be forgotten.

'I'm not going to forget this.'

The Ku Klux Klan is an American white supremacist organisation.

The move comes after Sir William, son of Gallagher Group's founder, called the Treaty of Waitangi a farce in a speech to Waikato business people on Friday.

He later expanded on his comments to Stuff, saying the Treaty document on display at Te Papa was a fraud, Māori ceded sovereignty, and the Foreshore and Seabed Act was the Government handing over the rights of all New Zealanders.

'It's separatism. This is apartheid,' Sir William said. 'There is no definition of Māori … You are Māori if you feel you are Māori.'

Maipi said he was representing Ngā Tamatoa, a Māori activist group which began protesting violations of the Treaty in the 1970s, and had been part of the Bastion Point, Raglan Golf Course and Springbok Tour protests.

'I thought my days are over, but this just boiled me up.'

He said Gallagher's view was based on faulty research, and appalling to hear in 2017.

'I don't think we need research to tell us that Māori were plundered by his ancestors during the Land Wars. How can he justify that?

'Does he know that those soldiers burnt children in a church in Rangiaowhia? Does he know that?'

A dozen Māori and five colonial soldiers were killed in the 1864 engagement when government troops took the sparsely defended Waipa village near the Kingitanga stronghold of Pāterangi.

But Maipi was glad, in a way. The comments revealed the 'pack of racists' support Gallagher's view.

'I'm disappointed because my children need a country they can be safe in.'

Gallagher Group, which employs 1000 people worldwide in its security and animal management operations, issued a statement on Monday evening saying Sir William's view was personal, and did not represent the views of the company.

Waikato-Tainui chairwoman Parekawhia McLean said on Monday New Zealanders should not allow such opinions to go unchallenged.

'Mr Gallagher's views are sad and disappointing in the 21st century, especially coming from the head of a respected and influential Waikato company.

'Waikato-Tainui, together with the people of the Waikato region, have worked hard for decades to build a society where everyone's rights are respected and where diversity and culture are celebrated,' McLean said.

Also on Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked on RNZ 's Morning Report for her response to his comments. Her succinct reply: 'He's wrong.'

Sir William joined Gallagher Group fresh out of university in 1962 and has worked from the shop floor of the company to chairman and chief executive. The company is known internationally for its fencing systems and is a major sponsor of the Chiefs Super Rugby team.

He was made a member of the British Empire in 1987, a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1999, and was knighted in 2010.

Gallagher had been invited to speak to an 100-strong audience at a Christmas cocktail function hosted by the Waikato branch of the Institute of Directors.

The Institute apologised on Monday for any offence.