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  • 2 out of 3 parties are with us. Now we need National.

    Posted by · September 30, 2026 10:00 AM

    I write to you today with some incredibly encouraging news: our strategy is working. 

    For years, Hobson’s Pledge was one of the few organisations willing to speak up publicly - calling for an end to division, a firm deadline on historical Treaty settlements, and the eventual closing of the Waitangi Tribunal. Back then, political commentators claimed it couldn't be done.

    In the past few weeks, we have seen a very clear shift in the conversation, and the political landscape, when it comes to promoting equal rights, is changing for the better. 

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  • Standing firm for an equal New Zealand

    Posted by · September 23, 2026 3:03 PM

    Wow! What a week in New Zealand politics - and what a confirmation of the impact we are making together. 

    Firstly, the last-minute win on the RMA (Resource Management Act) replacement Bills. In the final hours of this Parliament, the two RMA replacement Bills passed their final readings yesterday. It is fantastic to see these finally over the line. Reforming our planning and resource management laws has been a long time coming, including removing the Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements (MWARs).  These agreements between iwi and councils are undemocratic. As we have often argued, we need one law for all, and not special privileges based on ancestry. Now that the law has changed, all existing MWARs are abolished, and no new ones can be entered into.

    This is progress and a significant victory.

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  • Yet another reason the Waitangi Tribunal must go

    Posted by · September 21, 2026 12:34 PM

    Just when you think the Waitangi Tribunal has reached the absolute outer limit of its overreach, it manages to outdo itself.

    To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Tribunal has – as pretty much always - found the Crown in breach of the Treaty.    

    The latest is that the Tribunal has now issued a finding claiming that the Coalition Government’s draft school curriculum rewrite breaches the Treaty of Waitangi. Their complaint is that an emphasis on a knowledge-rich curriculum—one structured around fundamental skills like reading, writing, science, and mathematics—is somehow an ideological violation of Treaty principles.

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  • 10 Years of Hobson’s Pledge — Look at what WE have achieved together!

    Posted by · September 17, 2026 12:40 PM

    We did it. Ten years of fighting for equal citizenship, one law for all, and a unified New Zealand.

    Many would have hoped Hobson’s Pledge would only have a brief life, yet here we are – ten years in and still going strong.

    Today's message from me is one of gratitude but also resolve. Of celebrating successes but acknowledging there is still so much to do.

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  • The letter National and NZ First didn’t want to receive…

    Posted by · September 16, 2026 2:34 PM

    The ACT Party recently announced a common-sense policy proposal: finish all remaining historical Treaty settlements, strip the Waitangi Tribunal of its contemporary powers, and wind up the Tribunal for good once historical work is completed.

    For years, Hobson’s Pledge supporters have seen the Waitangi Tribunal stretch far beyond its original mandate. It was meant to resolve historical grievances, not act as an unelected block on the democratically elected Parliament.

    As we approach the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty in 2040, New Zealanders deserve a clear endpoint to the settlement process and a return to one law for all. ACT has shown the courage to lay this policy on the table - now it is up to National and New Zealand First to back it.

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