Attempts to cancel a gender conference in Wellington on Saturday look set to fail amidst a flurry of activity by supporters and detractors of the event over the past few days.  

Inflection Point New Zealand has gathered a list of national and international speakers for May 18’s Unsilenced event at the Tākina Events centre.  

Katherine Chua, spokesperson for Inflection Point New Zealand, says while the Ministry of Health’s delayed response to the damning UK Cass Report continues, vulnerable children are still being put on a path of irrevocable damage. 

“The Ministry of Health is clearly realising the extent to which it has been captured by transgender issues. The slow response to the Cass Report is compounded by the fact Pharmac data shows that New Zealand children aged 12 to 17 were being prescribed puberty blockers at 10 times the rate as children in the UK. As the Cass Report notes, 98 per cent of children who start on blockers will go on to cross-sex hormone therapy, which can render them sterile.” 

Inflection Point New Zealand is a newly established group made up of concerned parents who believe middle New Zealand’s voice and objections to gender ideology has been ignored in favour of the “expertocracy” who often have little or no formal qualifications to merit their platform.  

Among the speakers at Saturday's event is Mia Hughes, who will be live-streamed to the event to speak about what she discovered when researching WPATH files that she and journalist Michael Schellenberger leaked to the world, and researcher, writer and artist Jennifer Bilek, from New York. 

Chua adds, “The whole idea of Unsilenced is to give comfort to those who previously have been reluctant to voice their concerns. One of the most interesting aspects of organising this event is that we also have Brian Tamaki speaking alongside prominent members of the ‘rainbow’ community. “The time has come to put philosophical differences aside and embrace all voices. The time for picking and choosing your allies in this matter is long gone.” 

"With past and present politicians set to attend, the event is sure to raise the tempo of the national debate. This is not an issue of left versus right, it is simply an issue of wrong versus right, support from all political persuasions gives us hope that we can unite New Zealand from all backgrounds to ensure we protect our children,” Chua says. 

In a social media post this week, Wellington City councillor Nīkau Wi Neera said he had been trying to “shut down" the event since hearing about it. 

“Inflection Point NZ, featuring Brian Tamaki, have managed to get a booking at our venue. I've been running around all day trying to get this sorted and shut it down if we possibly can." 

"Inflection Point and their hateful event are utterly unwelcome in this city, and my colleagues and I will do everything we can to stop them traumatising our trans and queer community.” 

Wi Neera said Te Papa handled the booking and had thought it was for NZ First. 

"A health and safety assessment is currently under way to investigate whether protest actions(s) would pose unacceptable risk to staff at Takina and whether the event could be cancelled as a result. 

Wi Neera noted, however, similar events, such as Speak up for Women, were given the go ahead after courts ruled against Palmerston North and Wellington City Councils when they tried to decline or cancel events in the past. 

"Whatever happens, myself and several of my colleagues will either be working to stop this event, or failing that, we'll be on the picket line." 

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau told ZB Plus yesterday she understood Te Papa and the city council were monitoring the situation “to see how we best protect our queer and takatāpui whanau”. 

“I am deeply concerned that rhetoric being discussed at this event is harmful to our trans and queer community. Make no mistake, I completely and utterly condemn hate against our rainbow whānau anywhere in Aotearoa. 

“Wellington City Council has a longstanding commitment to recognising diversity and inclusion in the capital. Building a city that rainbow communities feel safe and included is a key priority for council. 

“In this city, discrimination will never be tolerated. Pōneke is a place where everyone can live with dignity, equality and respect. End of story.” 

Inflection Point met management of Tākina Events Centre yesterday to discuss their concerns over protest actions being organised against the event. 

“We had a very positive meeting with Tākina Events yesterday afternoon. Both parties now have confidence in the robust security arrangements and that they will ensure the event runs smoothly and without disruption,” Inflection Point NZ spokesperson Rhys Williams said. 

“We understand the pressure that the Wellington City Council-owned event centre is under, especially when the protest against us is apparently being organised and promoted by one or more of the city councillors themselves.”  

He said there had been wide support from different backgrounds for the event. “We have had Greens and Labour voters send us messages of support; we know from polling that the majority of Kiwis believe in our cause and that this could be a unifying experience across the political divide, rather than being a divisive one. If you support diversity, look at our speakers. This is what actual diversity looks like. 

“The irony is that those organising the protest on behalf of the so-called Rainbow community ignore the fact that well-known members of that very community are actually speakers or attending the event. The protestors are being presumptuous if they think they represent the broad sentiment of the Rainbow tribe.”  

He added that the event was filling up quickly, but tickets are still available. “We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday, but if people can’t make it, ticket holders will be sent online links to view the filmed event,” he said. 

A spokesperson for Te Papa told ZB Plus this morning that, "we are actively monitoring the situation and reviewing the health and safety and security arrangements to assess whether the event can occur safely."