New Zealanders are being led to believe that co-governance is necessary, inevitable, and does not impact our democracy.

It is nothing to be scared about, according to our current Prime Minister. One person, one vote is too simplistic, says the Prime Minister before him.

WE ARE BEING LIED TO. 

Co-governance is not co-operation and consultation as we are being told. It is division and discrimination.

Co-governance is the appointment of the unelected onto councils and in roles that make important decisions simply because they are Maori. Democracy does not exist where 50% of the decision makers are not elected. Nor where 20% or 1% are not elected.

Democracy is equal suffrage. Equal voting rights. You can't have a partial democracy. It is all or nothing.

As highly respected economist Thomas Sowell says:

“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”

When decisions are made by those who cannot be voted out when they get it wrong, and who have no mandate through a democratic process, our democracy is lost.

I will say it again: co-governance is the appointment of the unelected, to make decisions that will affect us all.

This election we are voting to protect our rights to make sure the power of government remains with those who are elected by the people of New Zealand.

Never before has it been more important to have your voice heard.

You will hear a lot of discussion about co-governance in the weeks leading up to the election and you will hear lots of commentary about democracy. You may even spot a billboard or two...

We will be working to counter the false and sanitising narrative that co-governance is an obligation and therefore a done deal. 

New interpretations of the Treaty are used to make outrageous claims about what the Government 'owes' Maori, but we have an existing system to deal with historic wrongs and we should be avoiding racialising the future of our country at all costs. 

Co-governance isn't a power tussle between Maori and white New Zealanders. It isn't just those with European ancestry who are on the other side of this division of our country. It also involves every single New Zealander from any one of the around 200 ethnicities represented here. 

Why should any New Zealander - of any ancestry - have less of a say in electing representatives and decision makers?

In the next few weeks Hobson’s Pledge is rolling out a plan to empower you to fight alongside us to defend our democracy.

Our first tool is coming next week. It will allow you to easily and quickly send a message to the candidates for your electorate to inform them that a commitment to ending co-governance is your bottom line. It also will lay out for you the positions of each party on co-governance. 

Please use the tool and then please share it around your friends and family. 

We will also be spreading the 'End Co-governance' message throughout the country on billboards, radio, and print media.

Thank you for all you have done to make this action possible. Everything is at stake. I will be in touch next week with the Bottom Line tool.