Today’s allegation by the Maori Council that holding young alleged offenders in police cells breaches the Treaty of Waitangi is the height of nonsense, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

The seven-three vote at the Otago Regional Council yesterday to include two voting un-elected tribal appointees on its policy committee shows race-based preferential treatment in action, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

The Otago Regional Council tomorrow should reject a proposal to include voting un-elected tribal appointees on its policy committee, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

We haven’t spotted any expressions of outrage or dismay, in response to news that Don Brash is throwing his money and weight behind technology that could help to solve New Zealand’s methane headache.

Sometimes “indigenous rights” activists make themselves look silly while trying to make a stand against celebrating Captain Cook’s visit, Hobson’s Pledge spokesperson Casey Costello said today.

Hobson’s Pledge welcomes an investigation by the Human Rights Commission called for by the New Zealand Maori Council so long as the Commission applies the law, acts independently, and leaves prejudice at the door, Hobson’s Pledge spokesperson Casey Costello said today.

Last month the Minister of Maori Development, Nania Mahuta, announced that the Government intended developing a national plan of action for implementing the highly controversial United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

A race-based discount for iwi businesses built into the proposed capital gains tax released yesterday shows that the Tax Working Group believes that Maori can’t achieve without a tax break, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

There is an argument going on at the moment about replacing the statue of James Cook on Mount Titirangi at Gisborne. Barney Tupara, a representative of Ngati Oenone says that the first meeting between Maori and Pakeha was violent and nine Maoris were killed. This is a blatant example of the lies Maori activists tell now about the first encounter between Maori and Europeans, and when it is not a lie it is a distortion of the truth. The journal of Captain Cook is clear, four or five Maoris were killed, the only query being if one was killed or injured, and it was the result of Maori aggression.

Tena koutou ki a koutou a Ngapuhi, E hari ana taku ngakau ki te mihi atu ki a koutou, He iwi kotahi tatou, No reira tena koutou.

Can I begin my comments today by saying how much I appreciate your invitation?  I have no doubt that some of you see me as a racist of the worst kind.  It is a great tribute to you that you are nevertheless willing to have me here today, at this place of great importance in our history, even though you may disagree with me on a whole raft of fundamental issues. 

By John Robinson

A report titled Every 4 minutes: A discussion paper on preventing family violence in New Zealand, by Ian Lambie of the office of the Prime Minister’s science advisor, which claims that Maori experienced little violence before colonisation, does not survive academic analysis.

Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene’s Electoral (Entrenchment of Maori Seats) Amendment Bill will, if passed, require a 75 percent majority in Parliament to disestablish the Maori seats.

Consider these absurdities:

• The need for these seats disappeared in 1893, when New Zealand became the first nation in the world to grant universal adult suffrage. The 1986 Royal Commission on the Electoral System recommended the abolition of these seats.

The Acting Chief Executive, Canterbury Regional Council

Dear Mr McConway Re: CRC Ngai Tahu Representation Bill

I write to express my opposition to this Bill as notified in the ODT on 31 October 2018.    The Bill’s objects, as advised, appear to render the intent of the Bill unnecessary, discriminatory and hence in breach of Human Rights legislation.

While the public are in general too busy to notice yet another “Agreement” between the Crown and tribal groups, Ngati Porou’s foreshore and seabed Agreement, which confers inalienable legal rights on Porou, sets a dangerous precedent for New Zealand’s future: Parliament has a choice – it can remain a member of the small group of prosperous liberal democracies that follow the Rule of Law (as opposed to rule by law) or it can enact the Ngati Porou Bill[i], setting a precedent for future “grace and favour” deals over the foreshore and seabed in which the Minister exercises powers of gift outside our constitutional framework, established over centuries, to define and curb Ministerial powers.

Dear Ms Wilford,
Knowing that Auckland University is being represented by Ingenio – a magazine which publishes such flawed and defamatory material as found in Professor Stephen May’s opinion piece on ‘Why Should We Learn Te Reo Maori?’ − makes me embarrassed to be alumni.

To the Editor, Ingenio, The University of Auckland

I write in reference to the article written by Professor Stephen May in your Autumn 2018 issue.

The article titled “Why Should We Learn Te Reo Maori?” sought to discuss the benefits of bilingualism or multilingualism with the inference that Te Reo would be the most useful language aside from English to learn.

Aside from misrepresenting Don Brash’s position regarding learning Te Reo, the article significantly maligns an organization of which I am proudly co-spokesperson.

By Michael Coote

Over recent years the people of New Zealand have repeatedly spoken through binding polls held under the auspices of the Local Electoral Act 2001 (LEA, see link appendix 1) concerning establishment of separate Maori representation in their local governments. As of May 19, 2018, results are in for no fewer than five LEA binding polls, wherein local electors decisively vetoed Maori wards that elected representatives on their local councils tried to foist upon them.

Retired District Court Judge and Canterbury University law lecturer Anthony Willy: “Maori and the Crown are not partners in any sense of the word. It is constitutionally impossible for the Crown to enter into a partnership with any of its subjects. The true position is that the Crown is sovereign but owes duties of justice and good faith to the Maori descendants of those who signed the Treaty.” 

The recently released referendum results for the five councils that decided to introduce Maori wards against the wishes of their local electors showed, in each case, that the public is opposed to race-based democracy.

24 May 2018

Hon. Kelvin Davis Minister of Crown-Maori Relations
Parliament Buildings
Wellington

Dear Minister,
We believe that the Government’s move to establish a ministerial responsibility for reviewing the relationship between the Crown and Maori is fraught with danger because it entrenches the notion that the Crown and Maori somehow exist as separate groups in partnership with each other.  Indeed, your own website affirms that “the Crown and Maori will act reasonably, honourably, and in good faith towards each other as Treaty partners”, reinforcing that notion. But the Crown’s duty to act in this way surely extends to all New Zealanders, of whatever origin; it cannot be the prerogative of only a racially selected few.

Politicians and media should respect the substantial votes against Maori wards in four districts, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

A claim in Parliament yesterday that the legislation that enables a vote on Maori wards is discriminatory looks like an attempt to divert attention from the blatant separatism that a Maori ward entails, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

For those living in Palmerston North, Manawatu, Western Bay of Plenty, Whakatane, and Kaikoura, when voting papers arrive please vote against proposals to set up a Maori ward in your area.

My thesis is that New Zealand today is awash with fake history issuing from those seeking political advantage and material gain or personal satisfaction. You may say that I am a man with a mission and perhaps I am. Values dear to me and once, I used to think, to all New Zealanders, are truth, fairness and democracy which are under threat today.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council is divided into three wards for electoral purposes. However, in November 2017, Councillors voted – with nine votes in favour and three opposed – to establish additional race-based wards, which would guarantee seats for Maori.

Last month Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull, the President of Local Government New Zealand – the union that represents the country’s 78 local authorities – wrote an open letter to the coalition Government calling for the removal of the petition rights that allow local residents and ratepayers to demand a poll if their Council unilaterally decides to establish Maori wards.

In calling on Parliament to deny ratepayers the right to veto council decisions to create racially-based political structures, Local Government New Zealand reveals just how totally out of touch they are with the views of the overwhelming majority of ratepayers, Don Brash said today in response to a press release from LGNZ.

Another tribal rebellions day, planned for this weekend by Northland tribes to remember the sporadic armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand during the 19^th Century, is a good day to remember the 95 non-combatant innocents who were murdered during those conflicts, Hobson’s Pledge spokesperson Casey Costello said today.

The Green Party’s call to end referenda on Maori wards once again shows that they distrust voter opinion, Hobson’s Pledge spokesperson Casey Costello said today.

In 2011 the National - Maori Party coalition passed the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act (the “MACA”), a radical Act allowing Maori groups to claim special rights over the foreshore and seabed. As a result over six hundred claims have been lodged with the Crown, Courts, and Waitangi Tribunal. While these claims may take decades to resolve, the public’s rights over the coastline remain in a state of uncertainty: the question is, will the new law affect coastal walking tracks and how?

Kaikoura will vote on a Maori ward after the required 300 signatures on a petition for a vote were validated today.

A defamation action taken by Sir Robert Jones over the definition of hate speech is long overdue, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

Earlier this month a public wharf on Matakana Island, off the Tauranga Coast, was blockaded with barbed wire and fence posts. A sign placed at the front of the Panepane wharf read, “This is the tribal boundary of Tauwhao, Te Ngare, Tamawhariua, Tauairi, and Tuwhiwhia.” It was in the name of “Bob Rolleston, Kaumatua, Hapu Elder”. The sign said, “Bugga Off.”

More than 60 percent of voters and ratepayers in the Western Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, and Palmerston North disagree with a proposal by their councils to set up Maori wards, a poll commissioned by equality group Hobson’s Pledge revealed today.

Labour list MP Kiri Allan should explain why she thinks Maori aren't good enough to foot it with other Kiwis and need separate wards, Hobson’s Pledge spokesperson Casey Costello said today. The Whakatane-based MP spoke out against a petition calling for a district-wide vote on a proposal by the Whakatane District Council to set up a Maori ward or wards.

The first Agreement negotiated under the Marine and Coastal Area (Tukutai Moana) Act 2011 not only confirms widely raised fears of the Crown’s failure to represent the public interest but sets a precedent for fresh rounds of Treaty style negotiations.

A decision by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council two days ago to establish one or more Maori wards is patronizing nonsense, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

Many who voted for New Zealand First with their party vote will feel deeply betrayed, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today. 

Dear Prime Minister, you will be aware that over the last few weeks more than 100 claims have been made to the high Court by iwi under the Marine and Coastal (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 for customary marine title and protected customary rights.

This is a submission against a proposal by the Palmerston North City Council to set up a Maori ward because there is no evidence that this is a step strongly desired by Maori roll voters, because sufficient opportunities for all citizens are available to contribute to decision-making processes, and because Maori wards set up elsewhere have not increased participation by Maori voters. If the council wishes to test this option, the council should put the matter to a vote. The submission is on behalf of equality group Hobson’s Pledge set up to debate such issues. Hobson’s Pledge members agree that there is no longer any need for special Maori representation in government, whether it be Maori electorates in Parliament, Independent Maori Statutory Board in Auckland, or racially based representation in other governance bodies.

It looks as if whether to have a referendum on the Maori electorates will become a defining issue in the post-election negotiations.

Racism

Do you support the democratic principle that the Government should treat all citizens equally in law, irrespective of ethnicity? (A yes or no answer would be appreciated).

Yes

Over the last year, the Hobson’s Pledge Trust has been promoting the message that New Zealanders are one people, with equal rights to live in this land – not two people, Maori and “the rest”, as successive governments have asked us to believe.  Over the last month or so, with the upcoming election in mind, we have been urging people to “use your vote to end National’s race-based policies”.  Not surprisingly, people have asked: how?

First let me explain why voting National won’t end the race-based policies which have been increasingly built into central and local government practice in recent years.

A few weeks ago, The Economist – almost certainly the finest English-language weekly newspaper in the world – carried an editorial and accompanying article describing the consequences of policies designed to improve the lot of Malays in Malaysia, first adopted in 1971 and intended to last for just 20 years.

One month out from the election……….what have I learned? As spokesperson for Hobson’s Pledge I made a decision to stand up for what I believed rather than sit quietly by. 

With almost a year as a spokesperson I have been astounded by those who claim to represent Maori who consistently attack a message of equality of citizenship. 
So the lessons I have learned:
1. Speaking out for equal rights at law for all citizens regardless of ancestry is somehow criticised as racism

New Zealand is a nation built on equality, and our equality is based on citizenship, not ethnicity, a full-page advert in today’s Sunday Star Times says.

Over recent months, I’ve talked to a number of friends who disagree with what Hobson’s Pledge is trying to achieve.  They have accepted the “current orthodoxy” that Maori chiefs really didn’t cede sovereignty when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, or perhaps didn’t understand that that was what they were doing; and that because the Treaty created a “partnership” between Maori and the Crown, this entitles the descendants of those who signed the Treaty to some special political status nearly 180 years later. 

Candidates are holding meetings up and down the country. We thought we would put together a few questions to ask your candidates. Go to a meeting and see how many you can get a response on. You may email candidates in your area. Let us know how you get on.

Touted by National as offering a durable and expeditious solution to Labour’s Foreshore and Seabed Act, Chris Finlayson’s Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (MACA) has unleashed hundreds of competing claims that will tie the courts up for decades, costing the country tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars in claimant funding, policy advice and legal fees. 

The 2017 election campaign has well and truly started with both the Green Party and New Zealand First launching major policie.