Naenae Primary Hits Back: "millionaires created a national news story"

A Wellington primary school's decision to take its entire student body to participate in a political protest has ignited a fierce national debate about the boundaries of political activism in education, with hundreds of complaints flooding in from across the country.

Naenae Primary School announced in November that it would take all its students to join the Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi at Parliament, with Principal Murray Bootten stating in a letter to parents: "This kaupapa will be history making! We intend to show our collective disagreement to the proposed Treaty bill by the current Government and its first reading in Parliament on that day."

The school's decision to frame the trip as showing "collective disagreement" to government policy has raised serious questions about political neutrality in state education, particularly when involving children as young as five years old.

Coordinated Campaign Against the School

Internal documents obtained by NZ Truth reveal how the controversy rapidly escalated through what the School calls a coordinated campaign by "right-wing millionaires".

• At 11:56am on November 13, the Herald published a story about Associate Education Minister David Seymour opposing student participation in the hīkoi
• Just four minutes later, members of right-wing groups posted copies of the school's letter online
• By 2:42pm, political blogger David Farrar had published the school's contact details, encouraging people to file complaints

The campaign culminated with Hobson's Pledge sending emails to its 10,000-person database, providing complaint forms and encouraging people to flood the Teaching Council with complaints about Principal Bootten.

Internal Document Created by the School:

Timeline: How millionaires created a national news story about Naenae Primary

11:56am, 13 November. The Herald runs a story about how Seymour opposes students joining the hīkoi. He has copies of school letters ‘sent to his office this morning’, that the Herald ‘has seen.’

12pm, 13 November. Four minutes later, members of the right wing post a copy of a from Naenae School about the hīkoi online. Did they get copies from the same people who gave them to Seymour?

2:42pm, 13 November. Kiwiblog posts a blog with email details of the school, the board chair, and the details of SWIS. They suggest people write complaints to all of them. This is an invasion of privacy. Kiwiblog is run by David Farrar who is involved in Dirty Politics scandal.

Around an hour later, Seymour retweets a tweet by Farrar about the blog.

About a day later, Hobson’s Pledge sends an email to its database of 10,000 people, an email address and online form to flood the Teachers Council with complaints about the principal.

17 November. PPTA and teachers push back, arguing that the hikoi is important for ē learning.

15 November. The Ministry of Education, under government control, issues guideline effectively discourage tamariki from joining the hikoi. Two weeks before this, the Ministry released a new maths and writing curriculum with all references to the Treaty remove

Where to from here?

You can see from this timeline how closely coordinated all of these groups are. With e handful of tweets and posts on Facebook they connect with Seymour and nek minute the news pushing their views and bullying Naenae School. But Naenae is powerful - the reason they are acting in the first place.

It’s possible though that the politicians and the people behind these attacks will keep pushing back against the school and seek some form of punishment.

The community and its supporters could continue to show support for the board, the p and the school for its stance.
The community could actively engage with the Teachers Council who now have to deal with the letters of complaint. The community could ask if they got any complaints. How ma What are the next steps the Teachers Council will take? A strong show of support fror community will help to get the Council on board. Would the Teachers Council attend e iwi with the whānau?

The community might want to seek broader support: do local MPs know what’s going Are they backing the kura? What about the mayor? Local councilors?

Now that we’re at the end of the year there might be opportunities for the school and community to tell a broader story about how successful the hīkoi was, how was the hi the day, sharing with the motu how the school stood, how right wing groups and ACT been picking on the school, and the story of resilience we have as a people. Perhaps Karere and Te Ao Māori would like to do a follow up story about the power of Naenae

Questions of Professional Conduct

The school's approach raises legitimate concerns about professional boundaries. In one email, a complainant cited Teaching Council guidelines stating that teachers should not be "using my authority as a teacher to undermine the personal beliefs of my learners or inappropriately influence them to take a course of action."

The school's letter explicitly stated their intention to "show our collective disagreement" and encouraged families to "come and stand with us," language that is politically directive rather than educationally neutral.

Complainant Andrew Collins wrote to the Teaching Council: "It seems inconceivable to me that such a letter would be considered let alone authorised to be distributed... I respectfully view this dissemination of this letter is not only a breach of the code but also a very concerning error of judgment."

Mixed Community Response

Documents also reveal significant support from within the school community. Parent Corrina Hunt wrote: "At the very least, I want my tamariki to be a part of this history making movement that is descending upon Pōneke. My tamariki would never get an experience like this in a classroom."

Many parents framed their support in educational terms, with one noting: "This will be the embodiment of 'learning in action'."

Former student Te Amorangi Samoa Ale praised Principal Bootten's leadership: "Mr. Botten has always been a strong leader who cares deeply about his students and the values of respect, fairness, and inclusion."

Taxpayer-Funded Political Activism

Perhaps most concerning is the precedent this sets for using taxpayer-funded institutions for political activism. When state schools take explicit political positions and mobilise students to support those positions, they risk alienating families who hold different views and compromising their core educational mission.

The school's decision to remain open for students whose families disagreed with the political action was presented as accommodation, but actually highlights the problematic nature of the initiative - why should any family feel pressured to choose between their political views and their child's full participation in school activities?

Professional Standards Must Be Maintained

While the school has received support from some parents and political allies, this doesn't address the fundamental question of professional standards in education. State schools must serve all families in their communities, regardless of political affiliation.

Education Minister Erica Stanford's subsequent guidance reminded schools of their obligation to remain politically neutral, but the fact that such guidance was necessary points to broader systemic issues in educational oversight.

The Need for Clear Boundaries

New Zealand's education system works best when schools focus on their core mission: providing high-quality, politically neutral education that serves all students regardless of their families' political views. When schools cross the line into political activism - particularly activism targeting democratically elected government policy - they risk undermining public confidence in the entire system.

The Teaching Council's response to the numerous complaints received will be crucial in determining whether professional standards have real meaning or are merely aspirational guidelines.