Uh, oh. PoO couldn’t muster a team to report on the doings of E tū members at Te Papa Tongarewa, who rallied this afternoon to save jobs after the museum proposed a restructure that would axe 14 roles and realign dozens more across the organisation.
Members were to hold a rally at the Te Papa forecourt from 12pm to 2pm and were inviting the public to attend in support.
E tū is advocating for all workers to keep their jobs and for savings to come from elsewhere.
The union has called on Chief Executive Courtney Johnston and Kaihautū Arapata Hakiwai, on salaries of $470,000 and $370,000 respectively, to take a pay cut in solidarity with staff.
E tū delegate and Curator of Fishes Andrew Stewart says this is his ninth restructure at Te Papa, and he says it is past time
… to take a stand for the future of the institution as kaitiaki (guardians) of the nation’s taonga.
Guardians of the nation’s treasures?
That didn’t go so well in December 2023, when protesters with spray paint and a power tool damaged a wooden display panel showing an English version of the Treaty of Waitangi.
The museum display, ‘Signs of a Nation’, showed English and te reo Māori versions of the Treaty, with the information panels highlighting the differences.
Te Papa staff were reportedly distressed by the protest, and museum management expressed concerns about the safety, wellbeing and stress for frontline staff.
PoO can find no record of the E tū union making public statements condemning the vandalism or expressing concerns on behalf of the staff.
Our check suggests Te Papa has not been mentioned in despatches on the “news” section of the union’s website since April 2022.
On that occasion, it enthused that two groups of workers at the country’s national museum were to be paid the Living Wage as their starting rate.
As for the Treaty, E tū (let’s not be surprised) was among those who called for submissions in opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill.
It posted a statement inviting members to make a submission to parliament to support its position.
The issue at Te Papa that excites them today is job protection
“Our jobs, and equally importantly, the future of our national museum are being undermined by successive governments who continually fail to act decisively to address the financial situation,” Andrew says.
“We make the museum run. We care for the collections, carry out the research, put together the exhibits, and host guests. And while many of us received no pay rise last year and further jobs are cut, the highest paid management got significant pay increases. This is alongside the number of staff paid more than $200k doubling since 2019.”
E tū Director Finn O’Dwyer-Cunliffe said
“…when leadership is on salaries north of $300,000, asking frontline workers to carry the cost of budget shortfalls is not credible. If Te Papa’s co-leaders want to show they take this seriously, the savings need to start at the top.”
He says the restructure also threatens the institution’s ability to fulfil its core functions.
But what does he make of the fate of the fellow who stressed Te Papa staff by damaging the Treaty of Waitangi exhibit in 2023?
Te Wehi Ratana, 31, from Nelson, was facing two charges of obstruction of police, and intentionally damaging an art installation.
Ratana’s charges were dropped a few weeks ago after his defence lawyer, Julia Spelman, had given the Crown a draft of a defence expert’s evidence for the future trial.
The judge was told the Crown Solicitor decided it was not in the public interest to proceed despite their thoughts the prosecution had evidence to prove both charges.
Tikanga came into considerations, which suggests some vandalism can be excused if the vandal can plead an appropriate political explanation.
In April 2024 the panels were removed from display in Te Papa, and as of March 2026, Te Waka Hourua said they were being exhibited in Te Pātaka Toi (Adam Art Gallery) at Victoria University.
This removed the potential for protesters to again stress the Te Papa staff, presumably. It also reduced the numbers of exhibits in the guardianship of those staff.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
The union has called on Chief Executive Courtney Johnston and Kaihautū Arapata Hakiwai, on salaries of $470,000 and $370,000 respectively, to take a pay cut in solidarity with staff.
E tū delegate and Curator of Fishes Andrew Stewart says this is his ninth restructure at Te Papa, and he says it is past time
… to take a stand for the future of the institution as kaitiaki (guardians) of the nation’s taonga.
Guardians of the nation’s treasures?
That didn’t go so well in December 2023, when protesters with spray paint and a power tool damaged a wooden display panel showing an English version of the Treaty of Waitangi.
The museum display, ‘Signs of a Nation’, showed English and te reo Māori versions of the Treaty, with the information panels highlighting the differences.
Te Papa staff were reportedly distressed by the protest, and museum management expressed concerns about the safety, wellbeing and stress for frontline staff.
PoO can find no record of the E tū union making public statements condemning the vandalism or expressing concerns on behalf of the staff.
Our check suggests Te Papa has not been mentioned in despatches on the “news” section of the union’s website since April 2022.
On that occasion, it enthused that two groups of workers at the country’s national museum were to be paid the Living Wage as their starting rate.
As for the Treaty, E tū (let’s not be surprised) was among those who called for submissions in opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill.
It posted a statement inviting members to make a submission to parliament to support its position.
The issue at Te Papa that excites them today is job protection
“Our jobs, and equally importantly, the future of our national museum are being undermined by successive governments who continually fail to act decisively to address the financial situation,” Andrew says.
“We make the museum run. We care for the collections, carry out the research, put together the exhibits, and host guests. And while many of us received no pay rise last year and further jobs are cut, the highest paid management got significant pay increases. This is alongside the number of staff paid more than $200k doubling since 2019.”
E tū Director Finn O’Dwyer-Cunliffe said
“…when leadership is on salaries north of $300,000, asking frontline workers to carry the cost of budget shortfalls is not credible. If Te Papa’s co-leaders want to show they take this seriously, the savings need to start at the top.”
He says the restructure also threatens the institution’s ability to fulfil its core functions.
But what does he make of the fate of the fellow who stressed Te Papa staff by damaging the Treaty of Waitangi exhibit in 2023?
Te Wehi Ratana, 31, from Nelson, was facing two charges of obstruction of police, and intentionally damaging an art installation.
Ratana’s charges were dropped a few weeks ago after his defence lawyer, Julia Spelman, had given the Crown a draft of a defence expert’s evidence for the future trial.
The judge was told the Crown Solicitor decided it was not in the public interest to proceed despite their thoughts the prosecution had evidence to prove both charges.
Tikanga came into considerations, which suggests some vandalism can be excused if the vandal can plead an appropriate political explanation.
In April 2024 the panels were removed from display in Te Papa, and as of March 2026, Te Waka Hourua said they were being exhibited in Te Pātaka Toi (Adam Art Gallery) at Victoria University.
This removed the potential for protesters to again stress the Te Papa staff, presumably. It also reduced the numbers of exhibits in the guardianship of those staff.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
6 comments:
I find bobs piece disturbing. Welcome to the new new Zealand, uh, I mean aoteoroa. Land of the long white clo....ummm no that's racist, let's rephrase. Land of the racist basket cases.
Based on this, im now going to have to switch my gender and race to Maori as there is a vehicle I like. Im guessing based on the case above and because I've made myself a victim that its my right now to take said vehicle. No wait, because of my newly discovered race, and my entitlement, going to get this vehicle is going to put me out, it should be delivered to me. Any charges brought against me must be dropped because of my race. criminal charges should laid against the person currently in possession of my vehicle, if not delivered.
The above seems a very far fetched stupid scenario, but we are already half way there folks. The only thing te wahi ratana hasn't done is lay charges against te papa. He should try, the justice system is so much in tatters, I would expect some far left woke judge to award him a hefty payday. Again, Welcome to aoteoroa.
The museum may not have been in the situation where job cuts are required if it had stayed as collection of 'treasures' of importance to everyone in NZ instead of trying to be a force for maori self-determination. The overwhelming amount of maori-based 'art' (limited in subject and poor in execution) and emphasis on Polynesian culture at the expense of settler culture which actually made this country is a disgrace. Visitors I suspect are predominately from cruise ships (ignorant of NZ history) with locals such as myself staying away in droves to avoid the propaganda in the exhibits. If Te Crappa expects to survive and be worthy of financial support it needs to make rigorous changes to its mandate and rethink its purpose.
I continue to be staggered by the size of salaries paid to the upper band of bureaucrats, including deputies and deputy-deputies. These people appear to be accountable to nobody, do not have to deliver measurable outcomes that justify the salaries, or report annually and in detail to their employers, we the taxapyers. Is this level of compensation in line with the private sector? I doubt it.
I think Te Papa sucks.
It is NOT worth the visit - and the hype that surrounds it is pure propaganda.
It's by far the most overrated museum in this tinpot shire.
Go visit MOTAT in Western Springs or the Southward Car Museum, Or any War Memorial instead.
I hope one day it sinks into the sea.
I am regularly in Wellington and have visited Te Papa numerous times. I note the floor on immigration greets one with a cannon and Belich's spin about bad empire, bad Cook killing Maori and no real context. The museum is run by LabGreenTPM. British and European arrivals are in a small area. I have no quarrel with displays on Maori and Pacific etc but I note the trend
No support for te papa here. Cut the staff and lower the pay.
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