We had hoped to resolve this issue quietly and amicably, but unfortunately, it has attracted media attention. The media has since approached Don for comment, leaving us with no choice but to confront Matthew Hooton’s defamatory attacks on Don and Hobson’s Pledge head-on.
Earlier this month, Matthew Hooton launched a full frontal attack on Hobson's Pledge and our founder, Don Brash. He stated that our group (and Don in particular) are liars, lacking integrity, and even corrupt!
I won’t sit by while a decent and principled man is slandered and attacked with baseless accusations which appear to be specifically designed to shut down our work advocating for racial equality.
We are taking action to stand up for our right to talk about issues regarding the Treaty, but more specifically to stand up for Don.
Don Brash has spent decades trying to advance respectful discussion about the Treaty of Waitangi. From his Orewa Speech to his work with Hobson’s Pledge, he has unequivocally called for equality and unity in New Zealand based on a sincere belief that a race-based state would doom our country. Will you back him against the tactics used in an attempt to shut him up?
As we rally to support Don, it's crucial to recognise that the tactics being used against him today could just as easily be directed at you tomorrow. When voices advocating for equality and unity are silenced through slander and intimidation, we all lose. This isn’t just about defending one man; it’s about safeguarding the rights of every individual who believes in fair and honest discourse.
He has been patient and courteous, maintaining the discussion without vitriol, without vilification of those with genuine concerns on either side. But that has been repaid in ad hominem attacks, in scurrilous accusations of racism.
This is a fundamental issue of decency.
Let me tell you what happened.
A few weeks ago Matthew Hooton went on a rant about Hobson’s Pledge and Don Brash on a well-watched podcast produced by Mediaworks. It was a tirade intended to drag Don's character through the mud.
So egregious were Mr Hooton’s claims, Hobson’s Pledge’s trustees and long-time friends of Don are urging him to take legal action to show how wrong Hooton was with the nasty comments he made about Don. It is time that race baiters who use such tactics to silence opinions they don’t like were outed. If you agree, you can chip in here.
Being labelled a “racist” is barely worth acknowledging these days. Everything and anything is apparently racist and as such the word has lost its meaning. Don is quite able to shrug that kind of nonsense off knowing that he is not a racist at all.
However, Mr Hooton and the like have found that with that word so devalued, they have to crank their venom lever another turn, and make accusations of corruption, lying, bad moral character.
Matthew Hooton’s attack on Don’s integrity and character, calling him a liar, and accusing him of deliberately peddling false information, was unacceptable. Now he has accepted with an acknowledgement that he was “not justified in making accusations of dishonesty” about Don but refused to apologise in the way Don requested. Always wanting it his way.
Why should we pick this fight?
For a start, we have to fight this because it is about damn time. Like you, we are fed up with the behaviour of our opponents going unaddressed. We don’t have to sit back and take the abuse.
The distortions about what we believe and what we advocate for are wrong. Quite simply, we stand for the words Governor William Hobson spoke at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi: He iwi tahi tatou / We are now one people.
Matthew Hooton has a history of playing fast and loose and this is not his first defamation rodeo.
In 2020, the National Business Review was sued by former National Minister Steven Joyce after it published a column by Matthew Hooton in which he accused Steven Joyce of “blackmail”.
That case forced Hooton to issue a public apology to Mr Joyce as part of a settlement.
NBR ceased running Mr Hooton’s columns after this. Radio NZ also no longer has him on as a guest after it came to light that he had not been transparent about his involvement in the campaign to make Todd Muller leader of the National Party despite commenting in the media about the party leadership.
From Mediawatch, 9:08 am on 24 May 2020
Of course, the tragic short-lived leadership of Mr Muller was a catastrophe from start to finish and did immense damage to the National Party at the time. Mr Hooton acted as Mr Muller’s right-hand man, bailing not long after his mate did.
It is unclear how he has been able to continue to position himself as an ‘inside man’ on ‘the right’ when he has fallen out with every right-wing man and his dog, including former Prime Minister John Key.
Is Matthew Hooton really welcome for a cup of tea with any of the centre-right parties? Or is his ‘inside man’ styling a façade used to get media gigs?
The Treaty is a matter on which friends and family can fall out. There are many good and honest reasons for differing views. But unfortunately, some are determined to use any means including bullying and slander to silence their opponents.
Recently even Sir Apirana Ngata has been ‘cancelled’ by activists and he’s the guy on our $50 bill!
Anyone threatening the official lines is demonised by woke elites, academics, lawyers, media, and bureaucrats. These people from the professional/managerial class despise ordinary people and aggressively oppose equality before the law. In their view, Māori should have more power than they get from one person one vote.
Join us in showing the cancel mob that we won’t back down.
And of course, all of this has played into the hands of those who’ve cashed in on the race privilege grift and the resuscitation of inherited political power. The paid mouthpieces and self-styled experts who get away with saying almost anything because it aligns with the approved rhetoric.
It is not surprising that they are scraping the bottom of the barrel and using gutter tactics.
Given his extraordinary outburst about Don on the podcast, it makes us wonder who is paying Matthew Hooton’s wages currently. Is this attack on Don and Hobson's Pledge another paid 'hit job' perhaps on behalf of a client...one of his previously known iwi clients maybe?
And if he is acting on behalf of a client to slander Don and discredit his work, why is the New Zealand Herald continuing to publish him without being transparent about his financial interests?
How dare he defame Don, in any case. Among other things, Don Brash is a former leader of the Opposition and a widely respected Reserve Bank Governor.
And, importantly, Don has proven that he is more than capable of working across the aisle and delivering non-partisan analysis. In recent years, he has collaborated with former Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark on several foreign affairs articles, for example.
Don is deserving of the utmost respect. He is a decent and honest man with sincere beliefs. To be labelled dishonest and corrupt on one of New Zealand's most watched political podcast is utterly wrong.
He has contributed a great deal to New Zealand in his many roles and we are determined to stand with him as he faces down Matthew Hooton’s slander. Are you backing Don?
This is a legal fight we didn’t anticipate having, but it is important. That’s why we are calling for supporters to join us. Don can’t fight this alone. But with our support we can ensure he has the lawyers in his corner.