Maire Leadbeater

Guest writer

Marie Leadbeater is the author of See No Evil: New Zealand's Betrayal of the People of West Papua, published by Otago University Press in 2018. As a human rights activist, she has campaigned for justice in West Papua and East Timor. Marie was born in Christchurch in 1945.

Security forces watch as a building burns after hundreds of demonstrators marched near Papua’s biggest city Jayapura on August 29. pHOTO: INDRA THAMRIN HATTA/AFP/Getty Images

NZ must learn the lessons of East Timor, and break our silence on West Papua

Let us not again wait to speak out only to uncover the horrors later.

By Maire Leadbeater | 4th September, 2019

How NZ decking timber choices compound a human rights crisis in West Papua

How NZ decking timber choices compound a human rights crisis in West Papua

A ban on kwila would send a signal that NZ is serious about protecting our planet, its ancient forests and the people whose lives depend on them

By Maire Leadbeater | 22nd February, 2019

Papuan youths carry a mock coffin during a demonstration in Jakarta, 24 September 2007, as dozens take part in the protest demanding that the government give a referendum to West Papua. Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, formerly a Dutch colony, in 1969 after a referendum widely seen as a sham, with many rights organisations calling for a referendum for the independence of Papua. AFP PHOTO/Ahmad ZAMRONI (Photo: AHMAD ZAMRONI/AFP/Getty Images)

The Monday Extract: New Zealand’s disgraceful role in the ‘slow genocide’ of West Papua

A new study by human rights activist Marie Leadbeater looks at New Zealand's reluctance to do anything to halt the crimes against humanity in our Pacific neighbor, West Papua.

By Maire Leadbeater | 9th July, 2018