How the Right-Wing Spreads Anti-Immigrant Narratives in Māori Communities

The goal is division

By Dr Harpreet Singh | drhsinghnz.substack.com | FB: @DrHSinghNZ | BSky: @DrHsinghNZ | IG: @DrHSinghNZ

When we are tricked into scrapping over the crumbs of a small pie, we forget to ask why we were never invited to the table where it was baked. -Dr Harpreet Singh

Author’s Note: This article exposes how anti‑immigrant narratives are being deliberately pushed into Māori communities. These narratives are not accidental. Economic fear is weaponised, faith and identity are manipulated, and tino rangatiratanga is distorted to turn Māori and immigrants against one another. The goal is division, not justice, keeping communities in conflict while those in power avoid accountability. When Māori and immigrants are separated by fear, the systems that created inequality remain untouched.

Political Deflection Through Identity Conflict

In New Zealand today, a quiet but powerful shift is happening in how different communities talk to each other. Right-wing groups are increasingly spreading stories that blame immigrants for the struggles faced by Māori people. These stories are designed to feel personal and urgent. They focus on the lack of affordable houses, the long waits at doctors, and the struggle to find well-paying jobs. By telling Māori that new arrivals are taking these resources, these groups turn two marginalised communities against one another. This horizontal conflict replaces the natural empathy often found in Māori values with a sense of fear and competition.

Protecting Power by Creating Competition

This strategy is often used to protect those in power and deflect responsibility. When people are busy arguing with their neighbours about who gets a slice of the pie, they stop asking why the pie is so small to begin with. Decades of poor planning and low investment in public services are the real reasons for the housing crisis and failing infrastructure. However, it is much easier for a politician or an activist to point at a migrant family than to admit to years of policy failure. This acts as a shield for the government, shifting the blame from the halls of Parliament to the streets of local suburbs. It encourages people to look at each other as enemies rather than looking up to the leaders who make the rules.

Distorting the Treaty of Waitangi

Beyond money and houses, these narratives also target the Treaty of Waitangi. Some groups try to use the Treaty as a reason to keep people out, claiming that Māori sovereignty means having the power to exclude others. This is a clever distortion of traditional values like manaakitanga, which is about hospitality and care for guests. It serves a dual purpose for the far right. First, it makes the Treaty look like a tool for xenophobia, which can turn the wider public against Māori rights. Second, it prevents Māori and migrants from realising they often share the same goals for a fairer society and a better future for their families.

The Pathways of Influence

The spread of these narratives generally follows three distinct pathways. First is the weaponisation of economic anxiety, where populist parties like New Zealand First or movements like Destiny Church frame immigration as a zero-sum game for resources the state has failed to provide. Second is the rise of Christian Nationalism, where groups promote a traditional identity that opposes mass migration and globalism. This often aligns Māori conservative groups with far-right movements that are actually anti-Treaty. Third is the exploitation of tino rangatiratanga, where fringe groups echo replacement theories, suggesting that the government is intentionally importing migrants to weaken Māori political leverage.

Reclaiming Unity Through Whanaungatanga

Despite these efforts to divide, many Māori leaders and iwi are actively working to dismantle these narratives. They are building alliances with migrant communities based on the core value of whanaungatanga, or relationship building. Many recognise that both Māori and migrants have been impacted by similar colonial or imperialist forces. Instead of exclusion, these leaders are reimagining immigration through a Treaty-based approach that emphasises mutual care and the right of all people to belong as equals. By forming these inter-community alliances, they are moving away from artificial scarcity and toward a shared struggle for justice.

The Impact of Divide and Rule

These anti-immigrant stories are a form of divide and rule. If Māori and migrant communities united, they would have the political strength to demand real change from the state. By keeping them divided through fear and suspicion, the existing power structures remain safe and unchallenged. This tactic ensures that those at the bottom of the economic ladder stay busy fighting each other while the status quo continues. True progress in New Zealand depends on recognising that the struggle for Māori rights and the fair treatment of migrants are parts of the same conversation about justice and equality for everyone.