A Christchurch poet has been accused of inciting “racially motivated violence” by the Act Party.

Tusiata Avia’s book ‘The Savage Coloniser’ has been turned in a theatre production as part of the Auckland Arts Festival.

It’s about murdering James Cook, his descendants, and “white people like him” according to Act Party Leader David Seymour.

He said “the Government should withdraw the $107,280 in taxpayer money given to a racist stage show about murdering James Cook, his descendants and ‘white men like [him] with pig hunting knives,’ then apologise to the public for giving so much to racism in the first place.”

Avia’s poems on killing James Cook and white men have received warm reviews by Stuff and left leaning magazine outlet The Spin Off.

One of Avia’s poems reads:

These days
we’re driving round
in SUVs
looking for ya
or white men like you
who might be thieves
or rapists
or kidnappers
or murderers
yeah, or any of your descendants
or any of your incarnations
cos, you know
ay, bitch?
We’re gonna F… YOU UP.

Seymour said “it goes on to suggest descendants of Cook and all white people be tracked down and stabbed through the ribs with pig knives because they might be criminals, too.”

The Auckland Arts Festival is promoting the production as “Fierce, furious and fabulously unforgiving, we’re proud to premiere the hugely anticipated stage adaptation of Tusiata Avia’s blistering poetry collection.”

At the end of its promotional blurb it lists a number of support services including the Suicide Crisis Helpline.

Seymour said “the Government, through Creative New Zealand, which taxpayers fund and whose board Ministers appoint, is supporting works that incite racially motivated violence.

“The definition of racism is to see people as like others of the same race, regardless of their actual characteristics. It is the -ism that puts race above all other characteristics.”

“This poem goes a step further, suggesting white people are inherently guilty of crimes, deserving of violent vigilante justice. Incitement to racially motivated violence doesn’t get any worse than this” Seymour said.

“Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern rightly said in response to the racially motivated hate and violence in Christchurch ‘this is not us.’ How could this kind the kind of racially-motivated hostility be any of us, let alone receive taxpayer funding from a Government body?

“The Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage should call the Board in for a please explain.

How did they think funding a show that talks about knifing people between the ribs is consistent with the New Zealand taxpayers want?

“Not only was the show funded by Creative New Zealand and Foundation North, Government Ministers appoint the boards of those entities. The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage is responsible for appointing members to the Creative New Zealand board. The Minister of Finance and Associate Minister of Finance have in the past appointed members to the Foundation North board. In 2020, Grant Robertson appointed Walter Wells who is now the Chair of Foundation North.

“The Government says it wants to stop hate and then it appoints board members who fund this stuff. How is it any different from the kind of hatred that led to the Christchurch shootings?

“The Government should come out, denounce the show, declare that it will give nothing to racism, and withdraw the funding.”

In recent interview with Stuff, Avia said “. “I think it’s good for white people to sit and squirm a bit. I mean, we’re [brown people] squirming all the time.”