They call it the 'silly season' for a very good reason and, if your December is anything like ours, I am sure you are very busy indeed.Â
This email is a long one - a Christmas bumper issue - as this year has been our busiest yet and that is saying something after last year's election! We have a lot of matters to update you on as someone who has supported us in our endeavours.
I want to make it very clear that every single action Hobson's Pledge takes is only possible with the financial and moral support of people like you.Please accept my thanks on behalf of everyone at Hobson's Pledge for standing with us and getting behind our campaigns.Â
Now for some updates!
The Marine and Coastal Area Bill (MACA)
Just when we thought we'd won this hard fought battle, the Supreme Court threw a spanner in the works. The Bill to amend MACA was all set to be passed before the end of this year when the Supreme Court rushed out a ruling that very cleverly gave with one hand and took with the other.
We initially got very excited because our highest court ruled that the Court of Appeal had "erred" in a landmark case and the Attorney General could appeal it. The Supreme Court explained that the error was in how the Court of Appeal interpreted 'without substantial interruption' in regard to land use and occupation. It also addressed the issue of 'exclusively used and occupied'.
Unfortunately, as we dug deeper into the judgement, it was clear that judicial activism was at play however.
The Supreme Court said, â[227] The appeal by the Attorney-General in relation to s 58 of MACA is allowed.â That is not a judgment, decree, order, direction or determination which could be sealed.
As I shall show, it was beyond doubt a pronouncement the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to make. It has brought New Zealand one step closer to the constitutional crisis Roger Partridge described as âloomingâ in Who makes the law? Reining in the Supreme Court.
...
Can there be any doubt that the Supreme Courtâs unusually speedy delivery of this âjudgmentâ was anything other than an attempt to pre-empt Parliamentâs further consideration and enactment of the Amendment Bill?
Once again, the Supreme Court has exposed itself as politically active. In doing so, the Supreme Court is responsible for undermining its own credibility by failing to maintain its proper position within the constitutional order. Doing so has created the looming constitutional crisis.
And the solution that Gary Judd KC suggests::
What should the government do? It should introduce a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) at the Billâs committee stage to declare the courtâs 2 December pronouncement to be a nullity and to require the court to decide the appeals in accordance with the law stated in what will be the Amendment Act.
The saying 'They muddy the water to make it seem deep' seems to apply here. The Supreme Court has sought to halt the Bill's progress and to confuse us all.Â
Rest assured, we will hit the ground running in the New Year with a plan to impress on the Government the importance of passing the Bill.
The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill
Submissions remain open until January 7th - a very inconvenient time to hold consultation, but we are doing our best to get as many Hobson's Pledge supporters to have their say as possible.Â
Click here to use our quick and easy submission tool.
Of course, our Prime Minister has made a lot of the fact that he and his Government will vote the Bill down at Second Reading. So the other part of our campaign is demonstrating to Christopher Luxon that there is a majority of voters who wish to see it passed. That is why we set up our Scaredy Cat Christopher website for supporters to send the Prime Minister an email.
Click here to send the Prime Minister an email.
We recently did some polling on the Treaty Principles Bill which we shared in a previous email so won't double up here. However, the ACT Party also did their own polling, although with different questions.Â
They asked if respondents would support or oppose Parliament passing the Billand they found that 39% support the passage of the Bill, 36% oppose, and 25% are unsure.
David Seymour says:
"When Kiwis hear what the Treaty Principles Bill does, instead of what the media or Te PÄti MÄori says it does, they support it."
So they followed up with more specific questioning that outlined each of the three principles and asked if respondents support or oppose each of these.
1. The Executive Government of New Zealand has full power to govern, and the Parliament of New Zealand has full power to make laws in the best interests of everyone; and in accordance with the rule of law and the maintenance of a free and democratic society.
Support: 45%
Oppose: 24%
2. The Crown recognises, and will respect and protect, the rights that hapĆ« and iwi MÄori had under the Treaty of Waitangi/te Tiriti o Waitangi at the time they signed it. However, if those rights differ from the rights of everyone, this applies only if those rights are agreed in the settlement of a historical treaty claim under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975.
Support: 42%
Oppose: 25%
3. Everyone is equal before the law. Everyone is entitled, without discrimination, to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law; and the equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights.
Support: 62%
Oppose: 14%
The front page ad saga continues
Just to let you know, Hobsonâs Pledge continues to fight a small aspect of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) decision around our running those very popular and successful front page ads in the NZ Herald about all the foreshore potentially going to iwi ownership.
As you may recall, we were cleared on most counts, but the ASA felt our opinion about iwi ownership was wrong. Yes, you read that right â they disagree with our opinion, and not on any matter of fact! We have appealed and we have initial good news as the Chairperson of the ASA appeal board has determined that the appeal meets the grounds for reconsideration. We will likely get a decision sometime next year; we donât know exactly when but this is a positive step.
Janet Dickson and the Real Estate Authority
This week, our lawyers from Franks Ogilvie represented Hobson's Pledge and Janet at the Governance and Administration Select Committee in Parliament. They sought to have a change included in the Statutes Amendment Bill that would give the REA more discretion around imposing punishments rather than requiring them to ban agents for five years like they did (or tried to do) to Janet because she saw absolutely no reason to take a course on MÄori protocol which had nothing to do with selling real estate.
Immediately after the presentation to MPs, we were informed that the Government has tabled a new Bill that addresses the five year punishment for not undertaking such a course.
This is a fantastic win and we acknowledge Janetâs leadership, integrity and perseverance. A big thank you to Hobson's Pledge supporters who chipped in to her legal fund.
Itâs not a complete win, as we would have liked the law changed to stop such compulsory courses being introduced, but itâs still a win! For those interested, the Bill is called the Regulatory Systems (Occupational Regulation) Amendment Bill.
We will keep you updated on the progress of this new Bill. We have also promised to keep you updated on Janet's case and receive many messages asking for information each week. Unfortunately, the wheels of our legal system turn very slowly so there is not anything for us to share at this point. We, like you, are waiting for the court to release its decision.
My appearance on Duncan Garner's Podcast
About a week ago Duncan and I had a lengthy discussion about the Treaty Principles Bill. We touched on a number of important points and you can listen to it here. Let me know what you think.
Electoral Commission tells us off about...nothing
I was alarmed to receive a letter from the Electoral Commission last week advising me that they had received several complaints about the advertisements we are running on Facebook and Instagram.Â
These ads pertain to the Treaty Principles Bill and encourage New Zealanders to either submit on the Bill or send a message to Christopher Luxon. We always follow the rules around tagging the ads as political and social issues, and there was nothing objectionable in the ads themselves.
As I read through the letter, I realised that the Commission hadn't found anything that we had done wrong. They warned us to not do things we weren't doing.
It was a strange letter to receive. It felt like we were being told off, but we weren't. I was left with no question that the Electoral Commission is keeping an eye on Hobson's Pledge and will leap in to tell us off at the first opportunity, even if we are not doing anything wrong.
Nursing Council of New Zealand embarrasses us all
Click here to read the Standards of Competence.
Confused local councils
It seems a number of councils around the country have become confused about their roles in the community. Instead of focusing on roads, rubbish, footpaths and local events, they are instead spending time and your money discussing their position on the Treaty Principles Bill.
The likes of Auckland Council, Wanganui, Wellington, Waikato District Council, and many others have agreed motions opposing the legislation. This will frustrate the majority of New Zealanders who want MPs or a referendum to sort the issue, not their local councils who have no jurisdiction on this matter whatsoever!
It really is a load of 'virtue signalling' nonsense. As Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson rightly said:
"The Treaty is an agreement between the Crown and MÄori⊠weâre not the Crown. Why are we getting involved in something that has nothing to do with us?"
My defamation case
My sincere thanks to all who have donated; itâs a timely and costly proceeding.
As you know, Matthew Hooton's attacks on my character were substantial and this legal action was absolutely necessary, not just for my reputation but also the work of Hobsonâs Pledge.
There isnât much to update you all on other than the case continues on and we are awaiting the defenceâs reply to the initial filings.
National Library tries to censor top Treaty historian
Renowned historian Professor Paul Moon has pulled the pin on a lecture on British policy leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
âThe library asked me to provide a summary of my talk, and when I did, they were concerned that the word 'whakapapa' was included, with no explanation as to why,â he said.
He âvery reluctantlyâ removed it.
"I then received notice yesterday from the Library that they wished me to take out a quote from the summary of my speech by the historian John Seeley, which famously described the British Empire being 'acquired in a fit absence of mind'."
Moon says according to the libraries director, the reason was "there was some anxiety that this quote 'could be seen as us agreeing with Britain conquering the world'."
This paints a bleak picture of our National Library and calls into question the integrity of the many events they host. Are all of their speakers put through the NatLib censor machine?
A Christmas miracle for our Treaty Principles campaign
After our email explaining that we had our print ads and billboards cancelled, we were contacted by Primedia and LUMO saying they would happily work with us to get some billboards up. We are glad to see there are still some companies that haven't fallen to the censorious regime.
From next week, you'll be able to see our billboards all around the country calling for equal rights. Grab a photo if you can and share it on social media!
We took on board some of the feedback from my last email and came up with some new designs. Here's a sneak peek at one of them:Â Â
Phew! I told you it would be long, but it is even longer than I expected it!
Thank you again for the support you have given to Hobson's Pledge this year. I hope you get a bit of a break and some time with family and loved ones - preferably with some good weather thrown in.