Get the latest news, campaign updates and commentary from Hobson’s Pledge delivered directly to your inbox. Learn what is happening, why it matters and how you can help support equal rights for all New Zealanders.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Together, we have spent 2024 fighting for the future of this great country and together we will carry that fight on in 2025.
However, the next few days should be spent enjoying the very things we value the most with those we love.
My previous email was long enough so I will keep this one short.
Thank you again for supporting Hobson's Pledge and championing equal rights for every New Zealander.
Happy Christmas and best wishes for summer,
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.
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.
Now for some updates!
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, “[227] The appeal by the Attorney-General in relation to s 58 of MACA is allowed.” 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 “looming” in Who makes the law? Reining in the Supreme Court.
...
Can there be any doubt that the Supreme Court’s unusually speedy delivery of this “judgment” was anything other than an attempt to pre-empt Parliament’s 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 Bill’s committee stage to declare the court’s 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Pāti Māori 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 hapū and iwi Māori 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%
Just to let you know, Hobson’s 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 – 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 don’t know exactly when but this is a positive step.
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 Māori 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 Janet’s leadership, integrity and perseverance. A big thank you to Hobson's Pledge supporters who chipped in to her legal fund.
It’s not a complete win, as we would have liked the law changed to stop such compulsory courses being introduced, but it’s 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.
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.
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.
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.
Click here to read the Standards of Competence.
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 Māori… we’re not the Crown. Why are we getting involved in something that has nothing to do with us?"
My sincere thanks to all who have donated; it’s 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 Hobson’s Pledge.
There isn’t much to update you all on other than the case continues on and we are awaiting the defence’s reply to the initial filings.
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.
“The 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,” he said.
He “very reluctantly” 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?
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:
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.
Very quick message from me today.
You have hopefully heard about our Treaty Principles Submission Tool by now. It is a quick and easy way to have your say on this important piece of legislation.
I also want to share with you our complete submission. This is the comprehensive document that we have sent in on behalf of Hobson's Pledge.
Feel free to use it to formulate your own comments in our submission tool or send it to people you think would be interested.
Look out for my longer wrap-up of 2024 later in the week.
The debate about the Treaty Principles Bill is one of the most important public conversations of our lifetimes.
Hobson's Pledge has done our best to facilitate debate and put forward the perspective that all New Zealanders should have equal rights.
We planned a campaign with billboards, print ads, and a social media advertising. Alas, we have only been able to book ONE billboard as landlords and companies said that while they support our message they are terrified of the backlash from activists.Vandalism, harassment, and attempts to ruin reputations would be expected.
After all the drama with NZME over our front page ad on the Marine and Coastal Areas Amendment Bill, we took our print ads to the Stuff group of newspapers.
We attempted to book the Sunday Star Times, The Post, the Christchurch Press, and The Southland Times. It would have been a tidy sum of money for the financially beleaguered media outlet...
Our ad was very simple. Just words on a page communicating what is at the heart of the debate - equal rights. Vote for the Bill for equal rights. Say no to the Bill, say no to equal rights. Take a look at the offending ad:
We provided an explanation and evidential sources to Stuff to back up our (very straightforward) claim and to speed up the process of approval. We told them:
The purpose of these ads is to advocate for support for the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill and to encourage New Zealanders to make a submission on it. This is a Bill currently before the Justice Select Committee.
It has been commonplace for advocacy groups and charities to engage in public debates about legislation that is being considered by Parliament on contentious topics such as abortion rights, euthanasia, legalisation of cannabis, and same-sex marriage. Placing ads in newspapers has been a staple part of this campaigning.
It is clear that the matter of ‘equal rights’ is central to the debate on the Treaty Principles Bill with both sides addressing their side of the argument repeatedly. Seymour and the ACT Party contend that all New Zealanders should be equal under the law with the same human rights. Te Pāti Māori take the position that Māori do, and should, have special or additional rights.
Therefore it can fairly be concluded that to oppose the Bill is to oppose the concept of equal rights for all New Zealanders.
References:
David Seymour, the minister in charge of the Treaty Principles Bill has frequently stated that its intent is to ensure equal rights for all New Zealanders. For example: HISTORIC: David Seymour lays down the Treaty Principles Bill in Parliament
In the proposed legislation, the Summary of Key Features states:
“Right to equality—everyone is equal before the law and is entitled to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination. Everyone is entitled to the equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights without discrimination.”
In interviews, Te Pāti Māori, the main opponents of the Bill who organised the hikoi to Parliament, have stated that Māori have more rights or special rightsunder the Treaty. For example: Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Why she’s so strongly against Treaty Principles Bill | Q+A 2024
In polling (Curia Market Research December 2024), respondents were asked if they agreed with the statement:
"I want New Zealand to honour the Treaty of Waitangi, but only if it can do so in a way that doesn't undermine fundamental human rights such as equality of suffrage where all votes have roughly equal power.”
62% agreed, 12% disagreed, 11% were neutral, and 15% were unsure.
However, after a legal and editorial review we received this response:
Why is Stuff refusing advertisements on THIS issue? And only from 'lobby groups'?
This also raises the persistent, but never answered, questions about who it is that sits in the shadows behind the Stuff empire.
Remember that Sinead Boucher purchased the company for just $1 despite other (allegedly large) sums being offered. Of course, the symbolic dollar says nothing of the immense amount of existing debt owed to a parent company that someonehad to have taken on.
There have been many rumours about who might be the true "owner" of the company, but the most often repeated one is that a large iwi took on the debt and is the real power behind the scenes. I must emphasise that this is a rumour and not substantiated, but it is certainly intriguing. Such rumours can run only because of secrecy.
To whom is Sinead Boucher beholden? Who is calling the shots at Stuff?
Who has an interest in discussions on the Treaty Principles Bill being shut down? Who wants to control the narrative?
If Stuff's commercial managers are being told to reject advertising money because editors have determined the topic is out of bounds, what confidence can New Zealanders have in Stuff's editorial balance and independence?
In most Western countries, though unfortunately not our own, media ownership laws would prevent the kind of underhanded and beyond-murky ownership set up Stuff has. Transparency expectations are much higher and people are able to access information on who owns media companies and who carries debt.
New Zealanders should not have discussions about the Treaty and its so-called principles squashed, but we also should be able to see who is doing the squashing.
On the matter of our campaign: we will be focusing our energy online as we can use social media advertisements to spread the word. It is really disappointing not to have billboards up and down the country and advertisements in the newspaper as we have done in the past. But we adapt!
Have a great weekend.
Last night, Maiki Sherman and ONE NEWS got very excited about their poll showing that more New Zealanders oppose the Treaty Principles Bill than support it. Never mind that:
1. The largest number are unsure about the Bill.
2. Other polls say the contrary.
3. Our polling shows that there is a large cohort of New Zealanders who oppose the Bill purely because they are worried about the division it is causing.
In our poll conducted between the 1st and 3rd of this month by Curia Market Research, respondents were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement:
More people agreed with that statement than disagreed.
It is seriously concerning that in a liberal democracy, such as ours, people are opposing legislation not on its merits but rather because they are worried about social conflict.
This kind of thinking creates the conditions where political decision-making comes down to whichever group is making the most noise and causing the most intimidation. That is no way for a free and equal society to function.
It is not racism to advocate for equality regardless of race or ancestry, but if determined activists are given enough of a platform in our media, people start to feel that tensions are getting too high and are more likely to believe the whole exercise is not worth it.
We must have the discussion. A fair one would be nice! We need to empower New Zealanders to feel they can have an opinion on the future of their country and that those who tell them their view is not valid are the extremists.
Unfortunately, the whole establishment machine is invested in stifling debate and promoting only opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill. I have mentioned the media's clear bias, but it goes beyond that to elite institutions like academia, the public service, and local government.
Some councils are wasting their ratepayers' time and money holding debates and votes on the Bill even though they have no influence on its outcome. Despite record rate hikes, failing infrastructure, and no shortage of local issues to deal with, they indulge their own egos and spend hours virtue signalling.
I'm looking at you, Auckland and Hutt City councils, and Environment Canterbury. Good on Taranaki Regional Council for being more sensible on the matter. Deputy Chair Neil Walker said:
"I think personally that the regional council is not a political body, and I certainly don't want to be sitting here time and time again, sending the government political messages about various things.
We're essentially an environmental council and a statutory body doing regulation. We are not doing all of these kind of things, lecturing the Parliament on everything."
It may feel like we are asking you to take a lot of action this year and that is because we are. As I have said before, we are in a now or never situation where we may never again have such opportunities to be heard on the future of New Zealand.
Another way you can make a difference is to talk to your friends and family about supporting the Bill in ways that promote unity and equality. We all need to have the courage to not bow to intimidation and to proceed with sometimes challenging conversations. The best way to do this is to relentlessly stick to our values.
Fundamental human rights for all should be the baseline for modern societies. We won't stop fighting for equality.
