'Maybe after what happens on Sunday she’ll take notice' - Groundswell protest organisers bid to get PM 's attention

Friday, 19 November 2021

Groundswell leaders Laurie Paterson and Bryce McKenzie spoke to Stuff ahead of the Sunday protest.

A protest movement aimed at removing ‘unworkable rules’ and regulations for the rural sector has gained traction, but its rapid growth means it runs the risk of being sidetracked by other groups. Rachael Kelly reports.

Bryce McKenzie is learning fast that it’s hard to run a protest movement without unexpectedly attracting people that you don’t agree with, and its even harder to make sure people stay on message.

“We have just had to ignore that stuff and stick to our guns.”

McKenzie and fellow West Otago man Laurie Paterson are the two main people behind the Groundswell NZ organisation, which has planned a series of co-ordinated protests across towns and cities tomorrow.

* Farmer protest group keen to meet Jacinda Ardern for answers on new rules

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* Second nationwide protest in the streets planned by Groundswell NZ

Bryce McKenzie, left, and Laurie Paterson are the men behind the Groundswell NZ organisation.

“We’re about unworkable rules for farmers and our rural communities, the ridiculous ute tax and the Three Waters debacle, and that’s it, and we’ve stuck with that.

“We’re not anti-vaxxers, we’re not aligned with any churches,’’ McKenzie told Stuff.

There were concerns within the organisation that tomorrow could be taken over by other protest groups, who could hijack the intended message.

Earlier this week in Masterton, organisers pulled the pin on their protest because they were worried about fringe elements distracting from the core issues, and a loss of focus.

“We’ve talked to the other groups, and they’ve said they’re going to respect our protest. Now that’s fine coming from the leaders of the organisations, but the people are a different story, aren’t they?’’ McKenzie said.

Groundswell’s Howl Of A Protest made international headlines back in July, but some of them were for the wrong reasons, with racist and anti-Semitic imagery included on signs at some sites.

McKenzie and Paterson say that while they can’t control what people do at their protests, they have learned lessons.

This time around they have put out a list of approved slogans they’d like people to use.

“That’s the problem we’ve got – no longer is Groundswell just a farmer movement, it’s actually grown because people see it as a way to protest… they’re just people standing up for what they believe, but you’re going to get the extremes of them as you go along,’’ McKenzie said.

“We just want it to be a peaceful protest with no dramas, but we want it to be bigger than last time, so the Government have to take notice.’’

That’s yet to happen.

Tractors and utes were involved in Groundswell’s ‘Howl of a Protest’ at Cathedral Square in central Christchurch in July. Tractors will again be driven down streets across the country on Sunday as part of the group’s ‘Mother of All Protests’.

On the two occasions that Groundswell has been in Wellington and requested a meeting with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, she’s declined to meet with them.

“She’s ignoring the 60,000 people that went out and protested against her Government’s regulations in July. We’re not against improving the environment, but we want it to be done in a commonsense way because the new regulations just don’t make on-the-ground, practical sense,’’ McKenzie said.

“Maybe after what happens on Sunday she’ll take notice, because I think she’s going to have to.’’

In such a busy protest environment, there has been a risk that Groundswell’s ‘unworkable regulations’ message could be lost in the noise.

They’ve been labelled anti-vaxxers (they’re both vaccinated), and questions have been raised about their allegiances with everyone from Destiny Church to the ACT Party.

“An anti-vaxxer is one of the kinder things I’ve been called,’’ Paterson says.

And it hasn’t been all plain sailing for the group that was founded when the pair organised a tractor protest in Gore’s main street just over a year ago.

Farmers with their families, tractors, utes and dogs at the Groundswell NZ protest in Gore

Since then, they’ve been labelled as ‘’a group of Pākehā farmers down south’’ by Green Party and Climate Change Minister James Shaw.

Its Pukekohe and Auckland co-ordinator, Scott Bright, was photographed meeting with leaders of Destiny Church. In July, Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard told the Government some provincial presidents would not attend the Howl of A Protest because it was being run by “crazy individuals”.

And just this week, it’s dropped its Hamilton co-ordinator, Tatua Dairy board of directors member Ross Townshend, over disparaging comments he made on social media about Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta.

McKenzie said they do background checks, but all of Groundswell’s leaders were volunteers and they didn’t have to become members or pay levies.

”Maybe we’re too trusting, but we take people at face value, and we take them at their word. We’re just a couple of farmers who should be out in their tractors, but instead we’re dealing with this kind of stuff.

“It has been a massive learning curve for us, and we’re learning along the way. We are just a couple of farmers, we’re not a political organisation, we don’t have staff and a media team or anything like that.’’

As Groundswell’s profile has grown, there have been approaches from some minor political parties who have wanted to align with them.

“That would be suicide for us, it would be a loss of credibility, but what has happened is that we’ve had a lot of scientists and farming experts come to us and give us advice about things like climate change and SNA’s, and we have an amazing team of really well respected people helping us out in the background now,’’ McKenzie said.

More than 600 tractors are set to roll down Auckland’s Queen St tomorrow, as part of Groundswell NZ’s Mother Of All Protests, just one of the locations around the country.

McKenzie expected a bigger turnout than January, partly because this time around it’s on a weekend day.

“Definitely in the north. Auckland will be massive and Waikato will be pretty big,’’ McKenzie said.

“We’ve got more towns on board, but as well as that, with the way things have changed with the ute tax and the Three Waters thing we’ve got a lot more buy-in from people in towns,’’ Paterson said.

Groundswell’s supporters are being encouraged to drive into the centre of more than 70 towns around the country. In order to meet Covid-19 restrictions they’ll stay in their cars, and at 1.35pm they’ll listen to the group’s mission statement on radio about the ‘’unworkable’’ regulations the Government has introduced, which Groundswell wants to be scrapped.

“The aim isn’t towns to be gridlocked, but that will probably happen. But we do want people to be respectful of other traffic, stay in their bubbles, and to be aware of emergency vehicles and give them the right of way,’’ McKenzie said.