A gender conference scheduled to take place in Wellington on Saturday looks set to go ahead after Te Papa, which manages bookings for the Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre, completed its health and safety assessment.  

The event has been organised by Inflection Point New Zealand, which has gathered a list of national and international speakers for May 18’s Unsilenced event at  Tākina.  

Yesterday, a spokesperson for Te Papa said: "Our assessment at this point in time is that the event can be conducted safely, and we are proceeding on that basis.

"We will continue actively monitoring the situation.

"As a museum for all New Zealanders, Te Papa supports the rights of Trans people, Takatāpui and all members of our Rainbow communities. Te Papa will be flying a Trans-inclusive rainbow flag on our flagpole on Saturday."

The controversy surrounding the event gained prominence when Wellington City councillor Nīkau Wi Neera said in a social media post earlier this week that he had been trying to "shut down" the event since hearing about it. 

Wellington Mayor, Tory Whanau, also entered the fray, saying: "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."

In the latest intervention, Wellington City Councillor and Mayoral candidate, Ray Chung has slammed the actions of some of his fellow councillors and lamented the state of the capital city. 

In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, Chung said: "I recently stated that Wellington City is in the worst shape it’s ever been – economically, socially, and culturally.

"The recent furore over the Inflection Point New Zealand event being held at the council-owned Tākina Events Centre on Saturday illustrates my point.

“Wellington needs to be seen as a city that is open for business.

"The City Council should be welcoming a diverse range of events that promote a contest of ideas and robust discussion, not pulling the Iron Curtain down over the city.

"Wellington is the centre of New Zealand’s democracy and we must strive to protect that. There are important issues at stake. Freedom of speech is the basic tenet to a functioning democracy.

"I’m told that the organisers of the event are now being charged a hefty bill from Tākina for extra security because of the protest against it. How ironic: a council-owned convention centre needing extra security for an event because of a protest being advocated for and promoted by some Wellington City Councillors."