Newsletter

”FBI Power Play in the Beehive: A Stark Reminder for Māori Sovereignty” - 31 July 2025

A Trump Loyalist in Aotearoa: Surveillance, Secrecy, and Settler Sins Exposed

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Ltn

31 Jul 2025 — 15 min read

Kia ora whānau (Greetings family) - Our sovereignty has been sold out again behind closed doors

The arrival of FBI Director Kash Patel to Parliament this week 1 represents nothing less than the latest chapter in the Crown's long campaign to surveil, control, and neutralise Māori resistance. While the government remains silent about what this dangerous figure discussed with Foreign Minister Winston Peters1, his very presence in the Beehive should sound alarm bells for every whānau who understands the true threat that surveillance states pose to indigenous communities.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/fbi-director-kash-patel-visits-parliament/XMSIIL452RGV5DM6U2QDRGQPAE/

Background: Who is Kash Patel and Why Should We Care?

The man who crept into our Parliament under cover of darkness is no ordinary FBI director. Kash Patel is a Trump loyalist with a documented enemies list of 60 people 2 he considers part of the "deep state"3. His confirmation by a narrow 51-49 vote came despite concerns from Republican senators about his political advocacy and potential for retribution 4.

This is the same man who has pledged to "shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state"5 and scatter 7,000 employees across America. The same man who wrote a book called "Government Gangsters" targeting his political enemies. And now he has already closed the FBI's internal watchdog office overseeing surveillance compliance 6, removing crucial protections against abuse.

The significance of Patel's background cannot be understated. Born to Gujarati parents in New York 7, he represents a colonial mindset that views indigenous resistance as terrorism. His appointment signals a dangerous escalation in how Five Eyes intelligence sharing will be weaponised against our people.

The Secret Meeting: What Did Peters and Patel Discuss?

Finance Minister Nicola Willis confirmed Patel's visit but claimed ignorance about its purpose 1, saying she only knew because of "a bunch of handsome men in suits" on the seventh floor where she and Peters have offices. This level of operational security suggests discussions far more serious than diplomatic pleasantries.

The timing is no coincidence. New Zealand hosts the permanent administration for Migration 5, a secretive Five Eyes data-sharing alliance 8 that processes up to eight million people's biometrics annually. We are already at the centre of a vast surveillance apparatus that shares intimate details of citizens' lives between the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand 9.

Peters and Patel likely discussed expanding this surveillance network. With former Prime Minister Helen Clark questioning New Zealand's continued involvement in Five Eyes 10 and calling it "out of control," the Coalition government appears determined to deepen these dangerous relationships instead.

FBI surveillance state targeting indigenous and activist communities

The Historical Pattern: FBI Surveillance of Indigenous Peoples

The FBI's targeting of indigenous communities is not new - it follows a well-established pattern of criminalising resistance. The Bureau conducted extensive surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King Jr from 1962 until his assassination 11, using wiretaps, hotel room bugs, and character assassination campaigns. Under COINTELPRO, the FBI spent 15 years disrupting civil rights groups, anti-war activists, and indigenous movements 12.

FBI surveillance has long targeted activists challenging structural racism 13, with the agency commonly citing "communist ties" as justification while the real concern was any challenge to institutional power. The same playbook is being deployed against indigenous rights movements today, as surveillance has been used as a key tool to silence indigenous voices and remove them from their land 14.

In Aotearoa, we have seen this pattern repeated. The 2007 Tūhoe raids used terrorism legislation to justify military-style operations against Māori activists 15, with heavily armed police establishing unlawful roadblocks in Ruatoki and detaining innocent whānau 16. These raids were conducted under Five Eyes surveillance arrangements 15, demonstrating how international intelligence sharing enables state terrorism against indigenous peoples.

The Surveillance Architecture: Five Eyes and New Zealand's Role

New Zealand is not a passive participant in global surveillance - we are active facilitators. As a member of the Five Eyes alliance, New Zealand has accumulated membership in 36 different intelligence-sharing networks 8 covering everything from customs to cyber security to migration data.

The GCSB and SIS work closely with international partners 17, with New Zealand responsible for monitoring Southeast Asia and the western Pacific through listening posts at Waihopai and Tangimoana. This surveillance apparatus has been exposed for hosting foreign capabilities with far too much leeway 18, raising serious questions about oversight and accountability.

The Kim Dotcom case provides a chilling example of how this surveillance network operates against perceived threats. The GCSB illegally spied on Dotcom before the 2012 raids 19, with Prime Minister John Key later apologising for the "basic errors"19. Yet surveillance of Dotcom continued 20, demonstrating how the state uses these powers to target those who challenge its authority.

The Threat to Māori Communities

Privacy Commissioner research shows Māori are more concerned about privacy and surveillance than any other group 21, and for good reason. State surveillance has been used to silence Māori voices and remove individuals and collectives from their place since colonisation began 14.

The Tūhoe raids showed how activism and political dissent are reframed as terrorism 16 to justify extraordinary state violence. Green MP Teanau Tuiono, whose home was raided in 2007 22, warned that such legislation has "a very chilling effect" on communities and activists.

Author Maire Leadbeater, who has been under surveillance since age 10 23, argues that the focus has shifted from targeting "communists" to "extremists" - a subjective term that can easily encompass Māori fighting for tino rangatiratanga. The 2002 Terrorism Suppression Act allowed intrusive surveillance without evidence of actual terrorist activity 21, a dangerous precedent that continues today.

The Neoliberal Agenda: Privatising Surveillance

Patel's visit also connects to the Coalition's broader neoliberal agenda of privatising state functions and removing protections for Māori rights. His book "Government Gangsters" calls for hollowing out government departments 24 and "cleaning house" of senior officials who don't support Trump's agenda.

This mirrors the Coalition's approach to dismantling co-governance arrangements and replacing references to treaty principles with "specific words" or repealing them entirely 25. The same colonial mindset that views indigenous rights as threats to state power drives both surveillance expansion and treaty principle erosion.

The government's silence about Patel's visit while simultaneously reviewing all legislation referring to treaty principles 25 suggests coordination between surveillance expansion and constitutional rollback. This represents a pincer movement against Māori rights - legal erosion from one side, surveillance intimidation from the other.

White Supremacist Networks: The Deeper Connections

Patel's appointment represents the intersection of surveillance power with white supremacist ideology. Trump released FBI records on Martin Luther King Jr despite family opposition 26, demonstrating his administration's hostility to civil rights movements. The same administration that appointed a man with an enemies list to run the FBI.

Research shows how surveillance has been weaponised against indigenous communities globally 14, with state-sanctioned surveillance serving as a key tool to silence indigenous voices 14. In New Zealand, this connects to the Coalition's broader project of promoting "one law for all" rhetoric 25 that seeks to eliminate indigenous rights entirely.

The timing of Patel's visit alongside ACT's proposed referendum on treaty principles 25 suggests coordination between surveillance expansion and constitutional attack. This represents the modern face of colonisation - using surveillance technology to monitor and control indigenous resistance while simultaneously removing legal protections.

Implications for Māori Resistance and Activism

The expansion of FBI-New Zealand intelligence cooperation under Patel poses immediate dangers to Māori activists and communities. With Trump officials already conducting classified discussions on unencrypted platforms 27, the integrity of shared intelligence is questionable at best.

University of Waikato law professor Alexander Gillespie warned this "recklessness" poses real risks 27 to New Zealand personnel and interests. How much greater is the risk to Māori activists whose communications may be swept up in this surveillance dragnet?

The pattern is clear: legitimate political activism gets reframed as terrorism 28 to justify surveillance and state violence. With Patel's documented hostility to perceived enemies and his closure of FBI oversight functions, the risk of surveillance abuse has never been higher.

Protecting Our Whānau and Communities

The Crown's latest attack requires coordinated resistance across all levels. We must demand transparency about Patel's visit and what agreements were made behind closed doors. The Coalition government's refusal to confirm or deny his presence while Willis admitted she didn't even know why he was there 1 shows dangerous gaps in democratic oversight.

We need digital security training for activists and communities to protect against expanded surveillance. We must challenge the Five Eyes arrangements that enable this surveillance sharing. And we must connect the dots between surveillance expansion and the constitutional attack on treaty rights - they are part of the same colonial project.

Most importantly, we must remember that surveillance has always been used as a tool of colonisation 14. From the Crown's earliest attempts to monitor and control Māori resistance to today's digital dragnet, the goal remains the same: eliminate indigenous autonomy and resistance.

But our tupuna survived far worse than Kash Patel and his surveillance state. By staying connected to our values, protecting our communities, and maintaining vigilance against colonial control, we will ensure that tino rangatiratanga survives this latest attack as well.

Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui (Be strong, be brave, be steadfast).

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Lantern

Readers who find value in exposing misinformation, white supremacy, racism, and neoliberalism are welcome to consider a koha/donation to support this mahi: HTDM: 03-1546-0415173-000. The MGL understands these are tough economic times for whānau, so please only contribute if you have capacity and wish to do so.

The Māori Green Lantern fighting misinformation and disinformation from the far right

https://www.nzsis.govt.nz

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y363lw204o

https://www.gcsb.govt.nz

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