It was sadly predictable. 

Less than two weeks ago, I wrote to you celebrating the strong commitment which the three parties which form our new Government have made to restore our democracy, where every citizen has the same rights before the law.

I particularly liked their commitment to scrap all vestiges of co-governance in public services – including their commitment to scrap Labour’s racist Three Waters proposal and the separate Maori Health Authority; their commitment to scrap references to ill-defined “Treaty principles” in legislation; and their commitment to remove an obligation to give special preference to tribal groups in resource management decisions.

The commitment to require all local authorities which have voted for Maori wards to seek a public mandate by means of a referendum was also very welcome, as was the commitment to give priority to the English names of government departments, given that English is the main language spoken by all those born in New Zealand. 

In short, they made a strong commitment to uphold the principles of liberal democracy, including equal citizenship and parliamentary sovereignty.

And all this from a Cabinet of 20, seven of whom, including the Deputy Prime Minister, are Maori.

But already we are seeing very strong push-back from those who claim, against all evidence to the contrary, that the Treaty of Waitangi was intended to mean that for the rest of time those with any trace of Maori ancestry should have a constitutional preference as compared with all other New Zealanders;that New Zealanders with any trace of Maori ancestry should be entitled to special consideration when it comes to controlling our water and other natural resources, should be entitled to foist on all our children a narrow and distorted view of our history, and should be entitled to preferential treatment when it comes to local body planning rules.

Today, we have seen that six of the people elected in the race-based Maori electorates – electorates which should have been scrapped in 1996, when MMP was first introduced, as the Royal Commission on the Electoral System recommended in 1986 and which the National Party has repeatedly promised to scrap – have changed the words in the oath of allegiance to the Crown. One Maori journalist has reported that they called King Charles a "scab" in their oath.

The same six, elected on the Maori Party platform, have succeeded in disrupting traffic and the lives of thousands of New Zealanders because they fundamentally reject the basic principles of democracy, and have said so.  They do not want a society where all of us have the same rights: they want to retain the preferences which successive governments have been willing to give them, none more so than the Labour Government of Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins.

Well, it’s crunch time. We either fight for a society where all citizens have the same legal rights or we surrender, and descend into a race-based society where those with a smidgeon of Maori ancestry have a legal preference over all the rest of us for the rest of time.  The Treaty of Waitangi provided that all New Zealanders would have the rights and duties of British subjects, an extraordinarily enlightened vision for 1840.  And frankly, if it had not provided that, we would long ago have had to abrogate the Treaty because there can be no basis for an harmonious future where rights depend on who our ancestors were.

So we have drafted a letter to the Leaders of the National, ACT and New Zealand First parties, congratulating them on what they have agreed to accomplish over the next three years and urging them to stand firm behind those commitments. It Is imperative that our leaders know that many hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders stand behind them, and support their commitment to restore a colour-blind democracy.

>>>If you agree, I urge you to sign the open letter HERE<<<

I will be writing to you in a couple of days with some other ways for you to get involved.

While it is an exciting time in central government politics, I need to direct your attention to another local government matter.

Auckland Council is developing its freshwater management plans and has put some documents out for consultation with the public. As I am sure you can imagine, we have identified some issues...

• For a start, the Council states: “Freshwater is precious and limited, a taonga of huge significance, and of particular importance to Māori.”
• They also mention that in addition to the public consultation, “There is a separate and ongoing programme of engagement with mana whenua in Auckland.” 

MAKE A SUBMISSION BY DECEMBER 4TH

The documents reveal a persistent presumption that Māori have a special relationship with water that is not shared by the rest of the community and that they have “stronger ambitions to improve our waterways”.

Water is the essence of ALL life, so everyone has an interest in healthy water. All Aucklanders should be equal stakeholders in how freshwater is managed in their city.

In the far-reaching consultation document, Auckland Council presents the idea that Māori are entitled to be involved to a much greater degree in the decision-making, monitoring and management, plus allocation, of Auckland’s freshwater.

They’re now asking for Aucklanders‘ input to this new policy, yet engagement with mana whenua has already been undertaken through a separate process.

Hobson’s Pledge doesn’t claim to be an expert on the scientific or regional issues covered by the Council’s proposals, but we do recognise the potential for frightening consequences from giving exclusive, unaccountable rights over water to one sector of the community.

We say people must not be divided by ancestral lines. Policies and rules must apply to us all equally.

What can you do?

CLICK HERE TO MAKE A SUBMISSION

All questions are optional. You will first be asked to choose which sections you wish to give feedback on. Select as many as you like.

We suggest that if you want to submit on the racial aspects of the plan you should select ‘A. Long-term vision’ and ‘C. Waterbodies where special management is required’.

You can also provide feedback in the box labelled G. Other Feedback.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE ADVICE FOR SUBMITTING

Please tell Auckland Council what you think by 4 December 2023.

 

We have a coalition government!

We've spent the past few hours going through the agreements between Act, NZ First, and National, as well as the ministerial appointments, with a fine-tooth comb so we can provide you with the highlights.

First of all, I’m sure I speak for all those who have supported Hobson’s Pledge since our formation in 2016 when I say how absolutely delighted we are that Casey Costello has not only been elected to Parliament but has stepped right into a ministerial role inside Cabinet.

Casey will be Minister for Seniors, Minister of Customs, and Associate Minister for Health, Immigration, and Police.

We can be confident that there will be at least one minister at the Cabinet table speaking up for what we stand for!

The three parties have agreed to 'On-going Decision-Making Principles' to underpin their work together. I want to draw your attention to the principle they are calling 'Pro-democracy':

"upholding the principles of liberal democracy, including equal citizenship, parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law and property rights, especially with respect to interpreting the Treaty of Waitangi."

Reading this in the list of 8 principles, I couldn't help but feel hopeful about the rest of the document. And that hope wasn't misplaced. Both the Act/National and the NZ First/National coalition agreements have significant policies for Hobson's Pledge supporters.

NZ First/National: 

• Abolish the Māori Health Authority.
• Commit that the name of New Zealand will not change unless a referendum is conducted.
• Ensure all public service departments have their primary name in English, except for those specifically related to Māori.
• Require the public service departments and Crown Entities to communicate primarily in English.
• The Coalition Government will defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law, with the same rights and obligations, and with the guarantee of the privileges and responsibilities of equal citizenship in New Zealand.
• ...will not advance policies that seek to ascribe different rights and responsibilities to New Zealanders on the basis of their race or ancestry.
• Commitment to remove co-governance from the delivery of public services.
• ...it is the Government’s expectation that public services should be prioritised on the basis of need, not race.
• Restore the right to a local referendum on the establishment or ongoing use of Māori wards, including requiring a referendum on any wards established without referendum at the next Local Body elections.
• Stop all work on He Puapua.
• ...the Coalition Government does not recognise the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as having any binding legal effect on New Zealand.
• Amend section 58 of the Marine and Coastal Area Act to make clear Parliament’s original intent.
• Conduct a comprehensive review of all legislation that includes “The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi” and replace all such references with specific words relating to the relevance and application of the Treaty, or repeal the references.

Act/National (we won't repeat the policies already mentioned above):

• Restore balance to the history curriculum.
• Examine the Māori and Pacific Admission Scheme (MAPAS).
• Immediately issue stop-work notices on Three Waters (with assets returned to council ownership).
• Uphold the principles of liberal democracy, including equal citizenship and parliamentary sovereignty.
• Ensure government contracts are awarded based on value, without racial discrimination.
• Issue a Cabinet Office circular to all central government organisations that it is the Government’s expectation that public services should be prioritised on the basis of need, not race, within the first six months of Government.
• Repeal the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Act 2022.
• Introduce a Treaty Principles Bill based on existing ACT policy and support it to a Select Committee as soon as practicable.

Notable ministerial appointments:

• Simeon Brown - Local Government
• Paul Goldsmith - Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations
• Judith Collins - Attorney-General
• Tama Potaka - Conservation, Māori Crown Relations

As you can see, we have a lot to be excited about. However, there are a few areas of weakness that we will be keeping our eyes on. Most obvious, is the specific language of removing co-governance from public service. That wording leaves room for co-governance of natural resources which the Prime Minister has previously expressed a willingness to continue.

Tama Potaka will be a minister to watch as he is the new Minister of Conservation and will have direct involvement with co-governance arrangements in places like the Ureweras. He is also the Minister of Māori Crown Relations.

It is disappointing to see the concessions David Seymour had to make regarding Act's proposed referendum on the Treaty Principles. However, the Treaty Principles Bill being supported to select committee will allow Hobson's Pledge and all our supporters to make sure we are heard. We will keep you in the loop with this bill when it appears.

These commitments and agreements are only worth the paper they are written on until they are actioned. It is crucial that we don't get complacent and take our eye off the ball. We need to be ticking each thing off the list until we can safely say that New Zealand is a nation where people are treated equally before the law.

We also need to be vigilant for anything that councils are sneaking through while the Government is getting established. Up and down the country there have been last ditch attempts to bring in Māori wards and race-based rights. I will email you in the next couple of days about one such matter.

I hope this summary has been helpful and that you get behind the Hobson's Pledge team as we hopefully see these changes implemented swiftly!

 

Yes, it's me again. I wish that I didn't need to contact you again so soon, but yet another urgent matter has arisen.

On Tuesday, Hutt City Council will vote on whether to establish a Maori ward. The so-called submission process they pretended to engage in only resulted in 25 responses from the public. This from a population of approximately 100,000.

It is evident that Hutt City Council did not want its residents to know this matter was being discussed. They did almost nothing to advertise the opportunity to engage with the process, and Councillors were ordered not to speak with the appointed Panel tasked with consulting with the public. That is simply not good enough. In fact it is downright cynical.

Lower Hutt is another example of the contempt that New Zealand's mayors and councillors have for the people they represent. Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Kapiti Coast District Council are just two other councils which have recently totally ignored the overwhelming opposition to Maori wards and voted them in.

Hutt City would rather not hear from those they represent at all.

Why are so many councils rushing to establish Maori wards now? There are two main reasons:

1. Time is running out to make changes before the 2025 local elections. The cut off day for councils to resolve whether or not to have a Maori Ward in 2025 is 23 November 2023.
2. A centre-right government will soon be formed and they recognise that some of the coalition members have promised to end Maori wards, or at very least restore the rights for citizens to demand a binding referendum on whether such wards should be established, a right cynically removed by the Labour Government. Councils know it is harder to unwind things that are already done.

Even worse is that Hutt City Council is attempting to misrepresent the degree to which democracy would be compromised if they establish a Maori ward. They have claimed there are around 12,000 people on the Maori roll. The true figure is about 6,000.

What does this mean?

Each of the wards in Hutt City has about 12,000 voters on the general roll. This means 12,000 people per councillor. A Maori ward would have twice the representation with only 6,000 people per councillor.

Of the twelve Hutt City councillors elected in 2022, four are Maori. In addition, there is an unelected Iwi Representative who already sits on a number of sub-committees and iwi generally already have special representation and voting rights on council sub-committees. The proposed new Maori ward would be additional to all of this.

I don't need to rehash all the reasons why representation based on race is terrible for our country. The reasons are consistent whether we are looking at Auckland Council or Hutt City Council. You know by now the dire situation this puts local democracy in.

What can we do?

We can make ourselves heard regardless. Below you will find the email addresses for the Hutt City councillors to copy and paste, and a suggested email to send them.

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Suggested email:

Dear Mayor and Councillors,

I am writing to you to express my strong opposition to the establishment of a Maori Ward in Hutt City. 

I was very disappointed to learn that such poor public consultation was undertaken, resulting in just 25 submissions from the public. I am sure many more people would have submitted had they known the matter was being discussed.

It is important that you are all aware of the concerns that many New Zealanders hold about basing political representation on race. Even worse when that representation is providing more political influence for some than for others. We understand that most of the existing wards in Hutt City contain some 12,000 general voters on their electoral roll, whereas any Maori ward established would have only some 6,000 people. The power of the vote becomes dependent on the race of the person casting it.

Maori are already well represented around the council table and iwi already have special voting rights, together with an appointed iwi representative who sits on many council sub-committees.

When you vote on whether to establish a Maori ward on Tuesday, I urge you to oppose race-based political representation, particularly where the weight given to any Maori ward would be quite disproportionate to the number of Maori on the Maori roll.

Regards,

Do write your own email if you prefer. The important thing is that the message is heard by these councillors.

Hopefully it will be at least another few days before you hear from me again, but with the speed with which these issues are hitting my desk, it will probably be sooner rather than later.

Your voice matters. I wouldn't ask you to take action if it didn't.