I am hoping you might indulge me as I write about the events of this week and how it demonstrates the dangerous path of division we are being forced down by a Labour Government controlled by its Maori caucus that is yet again demonstrating racist bullying that no other elected representatives could get away with.

On Wednesday I discovered a new hero, something that is rare in New Zealand at the moment.

ACT’s Karen Chhour demonstrated what it means to be a proud, dignified New Zealander who also represents Maoridom in a manner which is inspiring.

In her fight to protect the rights of vulnerable children, she was attacked by an individual that can only be described as a bully and a thug.

Supported by the derisive laughter of his peers, Kelvin Davis attempted to belittle the ACT MP, not by challenging the facts at issue, but by attacking her identity.

>> Click here to watch the news coverage <<

Sitting in the lofty heights as the self-appointed determiner of what Maori are and are not allowed to think and feel, he denied Karen Chhour her identity.

Let us not forget that Kelvin Davis, before Labour came into Government, made it a bottom line that he would resign from Parliament if Charter Schools were scrapped. Charter Schools were quickly scrapped under the Labour Government and, demonstrating the backbone of an invertebrate, Kelvin fell silent on his bottom line, with his forty pieces of silver including the deputy leadership.

Charter Schools were the most successful educational system for at risk and vulnerable Maori kids, achieving outcomes that were unprecedented. It seems, however, that once in government, Kelvin was not interested in what’s good for Maori; he’s only interested in advancing himself and a narrative of separatism.

Let us not get bogged down in the need to achieve real benefit for Maori when we can instead deliver a bunch of virtue signalling nonsense that benefits only an elite class of Maori, who can slap each other on the back enjoying the success of bullying those who are trying to advocate for the vulnerable.

But, of course, I will be classified by Kelvin as having the “vanilla lens” that prevents me for exposing a fraud and bully when I see one. I can’t possibly speak until, according to the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party,  I “cross the bridge that is Te Tiriti o Waitangi” so I can get to understand my Maori world better.

I wonder by whose measure the understanding of my “Maori world” is tested. After six years of advocating for equality of rights for ALL New Zealanders in my role with Hobson’s Pledge, the attacks on my right to speak as a Maori are truly water off a duck’s back. Unlike the Kelvins of this world, I don’t claim to speak for ALL Maori. I am not afraid of my views being challenged and I will debate the issues and demand accountability. I do not need to resort to name-calling and insults that belittle those who have a different point of view. But in Kelvin’s case, I have decided an exception can be made.

Karen Chhour demonstrates the growing awakening of Maori who have tired of the bullies and thugs who claim to speak for “us”. She speaks for accountability, and demands delivery of better solutions without being distracted by this narrative that Maori are incapable of achieving on merit because of events that unfolded two hundred years ago.

Yes, New Zealand can do better in protecting the vulnerable and improving outcomes but this takes serious conversations by intelligent people. And, despite Kelvin’s protestations, being Maori or not has nothing to do with your competency to find solutions.  

Even with the strong public support we consistently see for the equal treatment of all New Zealanders, regardless of race, the mainstream media are working harder than ever to stifle important debates in our society by reducing these issues to purely concerns of race, rather than democracy and equal citizenship.

Simon Wilson wrote in the Herald, calling the opposition to Maori Health Authority and Three Waters, "straight-out racism," while failing to address any of the good faith arguments made against those policies.

Read the Simon Wilson article here

ACT’s leader, David Seymour, has continued to speak strongly and responded appropriately to the flawed and naïve arguments put forward by the NZ Herald when he said:

"Our best future is a modern, multi-ethnic, liberal democracy. Each of those words matters. We should be a leading society with an equal place for all. Nobody should be born special, nobody should be born a second-class citizen. It’s a sad sign of the times that you can have a regular column in the country’s largest paper, and think such beliefs are “racist”."

Labour continues their attempt to distance themselves from the He Puapua Report, which delivered the cocktail of initiatives to separate Kiwis on race - the actual racist agenda in New Zealand. But Willie Jackson, promising public consultation on the new “Draft Plan” to realise the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, has deferred the public release of his new approach.

It is likely that there is much that in this new draft plan that will further outrage New Zealanders, motivating Labour to keep it under wraps until the controversial Three Waters legislation works its way through the select committee process.  

The deadline for submissions on the Three Waters legislation, called the Water Services Entities Bill, is Friday, 22 July 2022. Submit at either the Parliamentary Submission Link or the Taxpayers' Union website Stop 3 Waters.

Meanwhile, the Minister responsible for this Bill is trying to avoid the controversy by claiming that any challenges regarding her many potential conflicts of interest are merely underhanded political attacks. Again, the media collaborate by alluding to a racist attack, rather than seeking the answers that are reasonable for the public to demand. In fact, Jack Tame played into the narrative by asking Minister Mahuta “Is it [the attacks] because you are Maori?”

More than the usual politicians' "nothing to see here", the approach now is to go on the offensive and call racist all those attempting any of the previously standard scrutiny.

Read and watch Nanaia Mahuta's interview here

Maori Health Authority

The co-governance model for public health services, in the form of the Maori Health Authority, was launched on 1 July, 2022, at Waitangi. Despite public health services not coming into existence for any New Zealander until 1938, the Government considered the site of the signing of the Treaty, over 100 years earlier, the appropriate venue.

The new Authority has given rise to more questions than answers on how health outcomes will be enhanced. In fact, the only matter to come to light so far is a $100 million budget for traditional Maori medicine, including practices based on the phases of the moon. Tipa Mahuta, who is both Nanaia Mahuta's sister and the co-chair of the Authority, has been notably absent from any public statements and the allegations of nepotism and conflicts of interest have been dismissed without any adequate explanation.

The Prime Minister has defended the co-governance structure of Health on the grounds of poor Maori health outcomes, but this bureaucratic change won't get a single extra doctor or nurse into work and the impact on how services will be allocated is yet to be seen.

With our health system struggling to meet the expectations of many New Zealanders, this divisive new structure will be the subject of further investigation by Hobson’s Pledge.

Virtue Signalling and Wokeness

Government agencies continue to be compromised by an agenda of virtue signalling and wokeness. They commit more and more funding to counter spurious claims of racism or bias, rather than selecting the most effective funding options.

While the Government leaves unanswered the heart felt pleas from business owners having their livelihood destroyed by increasingly brazen criminals, Police are spending $2 million to research racism. 

The NZ Transport Agency takes the prize for political correctness gone mad, by calling for tenders to investigate how the Agency could “give expression to the treaty partnership by identifying Māori experiences, expectations and priorities for transport, to inform the development of key agency responses and help build capability within agencies.”

Click here to see the tender

For example some of the research areas are:

• What are Māori expectations and priorities for transport, now and in the short, medium, and long-term future?
• What are the gaps between Māori expectations and priorities for transport and their current experiences?
• What are the gaps in data and other evidence that can be used to characterise Māori experiences and impacts on them of the transport system?
  
  

The use of public money to deliver on an agenda that continues to differentiate the treatment of New Zealanders based upon ancestry must be challenged and we will continue to fight for equal treatment of all New Zealanders.

Thank you for your support.

Casey Costello

Trustee
Hobson’s Pledge

Hobson's Pledge Trustee Casey Costello spoke at the Taxpayers' Union Stop Three Waters Roadshow event in Auckland on 30 June 2022.

First and foremost, thank you for being here and taking an interest in the challenges we as a nation are facing.

In the interests of full disclosure, I would start my speech by confirming that, according to our new Minister for Broadcasting and Media, and Minister of Maori Development (based upon his assessment of anyone who does not advocate for Maori in a manner that he agrees with) I am a “useless Maori”.

In addition, despite my ancestry I do not believe I have the right to speak for ALL New Zealanders who identify to their Maori whakapapa or ancestry.

But I do, however, believe that “useless” or not I have the right to point out that there is a reasonable expectation that the role of Government is to advocate for better outcomes based upon true, factual and rational information.

It is this failure to recognise that we are able to debate important, constitutional shifting issues without it being from a position of racism that is so concerning.

My reason for speaking today is to encourage the debate, to scrutinise poor policy and legislation for what it is and not allow the discussion to be shut down because the Government has inserted a race component where it does not belong.

The mere suggestion that you question the concepts of co-governance is enough to send many into a spin.

We should all be engaged in this discussion; we should be demanding this debate. If it is a logical and rational position, then those advocating for it should be able to present the evidence of where it has succeeded and demonstrate the benefits.

But instead, the request for debate is devolved into name calling and hostility.

Despite the absence from your in-box, Hobson’s Pledge have been toiling away - kept busy by a Government determined to divide New Zealanders based upon ancestry.

This month alone this Labour Government has:

• Introduced the Water Services Entities Bill (which implements the Three Waters reforms) and taken it through the First Reading
• Proceeded with the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngai Tahu Representation) Bill, which has completed the second reading
• Received Royal Assent for the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill, which implements, among other things, the Maori Health Authority

Behind these issues, we cannot lose sight of:

• Coastal claims under the Marine and Coastal Area Act
• Efforts to implement co-governance over the Hauraki Gulf removing council elected representation
• The review being conducted by the Department of Conservation as to the status of roughly one third of the public conservation estate, which is “stewardship land”.
• How the history curriculum will influence New Zealand’s education system

Hobson’s Pledge continues to work to expose these issues to greater public scrutiny, as we were able to do with the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill.  

The separatist agenda has been given momentum by the He Puapua Report that this Government, despite commissioning the report in 2019, has attempted to distance themselves from.

Willie Jackson, the Minister for Maori Development, (and now Broadcasting) announced in April we had nothing to fear from co-governance and that a new report to realise the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) had been commissioned.

Three Waters has been thrust upon us with gusto and, make no mistake, the extent to which you will have influence, control, or even interest, will be determined by your ancestry.

The Government has now announced that they are moving ahead with their Three Waters project, after making some merely cosmetic changes to the policy.

Wading through the Government's carefully selected terminology and doublespeak, Three Waters will still be an undemocratic and divisive theft from local communities. That they are continuing, in the face of strong public opposition, demonstrates this Government's commitment to differentiating interests in water by race.

Tuku Morgan, a member of the Three Waters working group, made it clear when he said about iwi:

“We have always said, that we’re not interested in owning the water assets. What we’re interested in is the proprietor rights over water, and that is a discussion to be had with the Crown, not with councils.”

Hobson's Pledge will continue fighting Three Waters every step of the way.

Local communities will be left with ownership in the technical sense only, while control is handed over to undemocratic co-governance.

To demonstrate this Government’s contempt for a unified New Zealand, they have even established a separate submission process just for Maori.

With your support, we were able to defend democracy by forcing a u-turn on the rushed Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill.

We can do this again.

The Three Waters project has long since lost the pretence of being about better water systems and is now clearly revealed to be a power grab that will not see better outcomes for anyone. All water users will pay more and all water users will lose the voice they currently have through local representation.

With clever spin and fear-mongering from the Government, as well as an uncritical, propaganda-spreading media, New Zealanders are being deceived. We have seen that the anti-democratic movement are not even beyond attacking our Bill of Rights to achieve their objectives.

Water is a fundamental human necessity. The idea that some New Zealanders have a greater vested interest than others in how water is controlled is an insult to all of us.

Hobson’s Pledge will be fighting against the coming legislation – this is a war on Democracy. What New Zealanders need is better outcomes from government, not more division. Undemocratic projects like Three Waters won't improve outcomes for anyone.

If you haven't already signed our open letter to the Prime Minister demanding a stop to Three Waters, click here to add your name.

As we saw with the Rotorua Bill, good old-fashioned people power can force Governments to change course. We must show the Government that they must kick out Three Waters.

For May the Fourth (Star Wars Day), Hobson's Pledge put an ad in the NZ Herald to sound the alarm on what the Government is doing with our democracy. Take a look below.

Your support is making this work possible, and we are making a difference.

Casey Costello
Trustee
Hobson’s Pledge

Late this afternoon the Rotorua District Council and Labour list MP Tamati Coffey announced they were “pausing” their divisive Bill to do away with the fundamental democratic principle of one person, one vote.

While the Government is trying to save face by calling a mere "pause" to the Bill – make no mistake, this is a comprehensive win. 

Technically, Parliament's rules mean a bill cannot be withdrawn while it's before a Select Committee, but with the Government pulling its support Mr Coffey's Bill is left high and dry.

And with the admission that making Maori votes twice the value of those of non-Maori cannot be justified, no amount of tweaking can make the Bill consistent with the NZ Bill of Rights Act. In short, the Bill is finished.

Your support has achieved this victory. More than 13,000 Hobson's Pledge supporters submitted to the Maori Affairs Select Committee to achieve today's victory. That volume stopped the outrageous rush to sneak this Bill through without it coming to the public's attention.

Of those, 4,620 submitters opted to also submit orally (via Zoom or in-person). Allocating just five minutes per person, meant it would have taken at least 39 days of ten-hour hearings for the Select Committee to get through those who wanted to have a say. This alone prevented the Bill from passing before 1 June, meaning it couldn’t possibly apply to this year’s local elections.

Seeing the writing on the wall, as well as our campaign (and public anger) heating up, Labour decided that the only option was to make this U-turn. 

Thanks to the support of thousands of Kiwis like you chipping-in to this effort, more than one million New Zealanders have seen our TV ad with targeted advertising across YouTube and Facebook.

The Government knew that from tomorrow our advertisements were hitting newspapers across the country, and we have TV ads slots booked from this weekend.

Seeing the media blitz coming, Jacinda Ardern's office read the writing on the wall.

This is proof that well-organised people-power can win even against a majority government beholden to a Maori caucus. Despite the best efforts of the anti-democracy movement, democracy still works.

Michael, you stood with us for democracy and told them no. This is your win. Thank you for making it possible.

Where to from here?

We have won this battle, but the war isn’t over. Tomorrow the fight continues against the rest of the anti-democracy movement’s attempts to divide New Zealanders by race and undermine equality of citizenship.

We understand there is a major Three Waters announcement from Nanaia Mahuta tomorrow morning at 11am.

Thank you for your support.

Don Brash
Trustee
Hobson’s Pledge

The co-governance movement is making its most direct attack yet on the fundamental democratic principle of one person, one vote.

Yesterday in the House, Labour List MP Tamati Coffey's Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill passed its first reading, with Labour, the Greens, and the Maori Party in support, while National and Act were opposed.

This Bill not only divides Maori and non-Maori voters, but it gives Maori voters more seats on the Council than their proportion of the population.

The 22,000 Maori Roll voters will get three seats, while the 56,000 General Roll voters also get three seats, despite being more than twice the number of people.

This kind of arrangement is prohibited under existing electoral law, which requires adherence to the one person, one vote principle. So the Rotorua District Council and Tamati Coffey have brought this Bill to Parliament to override that legal protection for democracy.

Tamati Coffey has sent his Bill to the Maori Affairs Committee, which he chairs with a Labour majority, and has outrageously limited the window for submissions from the public to just two weeks. 

Hobson's Pledge, with your support, will be fighting this racist bill every step of the way.

Copied below are my comments to the media.

Thank you for your support.

Casey Costello
Trustee
Hobson’s Pledge

Co-governance has been placed under a spotlight thanks to the referendum call from ACT. Support the Referendum

Regardless of your voting intentions or political affiliation, support for this petition is essential if New Zealanders are to have a say. ACT’s Karen Chhour spoke passionately in the House confirming the party’s position.

In his speech at the Milford Rotary Club, David Seymour articulated the key issues.

His comments included: “But here’s the thing. Not all Māori are struggling and not all those struggling are Māori. The best way to address unequal outcomes is to improve ALL our health and education policies – not to single out one group for special treatment because of their ethnicity.”

Concluding with a commitment that ACT will campaign for a referendum on co-governance has catapulted the issue into the political arena. Full speech here

Making an Impact

Co-governance is also being highlighted by Hobson’s Pledge supporters. After the Maori Party announced that they would only be willing to go into a post-election coalition with a party committed to co-governance, the National Party were sent a clear message that they must rule out coalitions that would further separatism. Nearly 10,000 people used our on-line tool at www.ruleitout.nz to send e-mails to MPs, calling on National to rule out a Maori Party coalition.  

The submissions to the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill also received some media exposure, with Hobson’s Pledge directly responsible for three quarters of the submissions against that Bill. Full article here: Democracy or division: The wrangle over Ngāi Tahu and ECan | Stuff.co.nz

This is a longer update than usual, with so much to cover in recent weeks.

In today's update, we look at the divisive new history curriculum, the Government running full steam ahead with the separate Maori Health Authority, shocking comments from MPs attacking democracy, and unfortunate developments with the Hauraki Gulf Forum.

Higher standard needed for History

The new history curriculum, announced last week, will become a tool for dividing New Zealanders, with its clear focus on two types of citizenship.  

With a failing education system producing shameful outcomes in literacy, numeracy, and even attendance, this Government continues to evade accountability by distracting New Zealanders with ideology.

Although originally scheduled for introduction to schools at the beginning of 2022, there was a range of criticism, including the strong influence of ideology and the complete omission of many important aspects of our history, which caused a 12 month delay. The delay was defended by Education Minister Chris Hipkins.

“The feedback the Ministry received was wide-ranging, clear, and at times confronting. New Zealanders have a lot to say about how our nation’s histories should be examined and discussed, and that is a good thing,” Chris Hipkins said.

The new curriculum requires students to make “informed ethical judgement(s) about people’s actions”.  Making ethical judgement is not the role of history and the question must be asked as to who defines “ethical”.

Analysis of the curriculum shows the strong influence of separatist ideology.  This will do little to reduce division or encourage unity.  ACT’s education spokesperson Chris Baillie expressed valid concerns about the curriculum. 

“…Labour is trying to make New Zealand an unequal society on purpose. It believes there are two types of New Zealanders. Tangata Whenua, who are here by right, and Tangata Tiriti who are lucky to be here. We should be learning the history of our multi-ethnic society.”

New Zealanders – heal thyself

Funding of $22 million has been announced for the Maori Health Authority, which is being established under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill, even though the Bill is still with the Select Committee.

Today the Working Group on the divisive Three Waters reforms published their report, leaving the fundamental problem - co-governance - still threaded through their recommendations.

While various headlines have talked up the report proposing shares for councils based on population, those councils would still be subject to a co-governance model stripping local, democratic control from New Zealand's water infrastructure.

This is why Hobson's Pledge, with your support, is sounding the alarm and showing the public the dangers they face with ever-expanding co-governance. 

Copied below are my comments to the media.

Thank you for your support.

Don Brash
Trustee
Hobson’s Pledge

MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 MARCH 2022

Recommendations by the Three Waters Working Group announced today reaffirm the theft of water assets from local councils and the Government’s commitment to have half of all the board members of the regional entities set up to manage the country’s water infrastructure appointed by iwi, said Hobson's Pledge spokesman Don Brash.

“The announcement today tried to provide an assurance of ownership retention through a complex shareholding model."

“But despite the PR spin, councils would not have ownership in any meaningful sense."

“In October last year, it was clear that the legislation was intended to implement a co-governance model that would deprive councils of ownership in any real sense. Our predictions have been realised.”

“Local Government NZ has announced their support for the recommendations, claiming that the Working Group’s recommendations strengthened public ownership.”

But Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has made his dissenting view clear in the Working Group’s report, noting that “democratic accountability, through elected representatives, to the people who funded the water infrastructure in Auckland valued at many billions of dollars and who continue to pay for its operation is critical.”  

He went further, noting that “It is not appropriate to cede control over this infrastructure to other councils and mana whenua and to remove existing accountability to Aucklanders through elected representatives.”

“Misreading the concerns of every community in New Zealand, the Working Group has sought to provide additional reassurance of protection against privatisation,” said Brash.

“But for most New Zealanders the worry is that the Government’s proposal would strip away the ownership of assets paid for by generations of ratepayers and hand control to unelected and unaccountable tribal representatives under a co-governance model which is 100 miles from any concept of democracy, and bears no relationship to what the Treaty of Waitangi provided.  Mr Goff is right.”

“LGNZ’s statement demonstrated its total disregard for ratepayers by concluding that public consultation should be restricted to the Select Committee process.”

“The arrogance with which this Government is deceiving ratepayers is staggering and, contrary to the assurance from Willie Jackson, it would seem New Zealanders have every reason to be afraid,” said Brash.

ENDS

Independent polling by Curia Market Research, commissioned by Hobson’s Pledge, shows that 72 percent of voters say our country is more divided today than 12 months ago.

This is a damning indictment on this Government’s separatist agenda.

Claims that the He Puapua Report – which recommends radical policy based on race – was a separatist agenda were denounced by Prime Minister Ardern when she assured the public that the Report did not reflect Government policy

But despite this assurance it is clear that the reality is very different.  

“The divisiveness perceived by the public is striking and should give the Government pause concerning the breakneck pace with which it is upending the foundations of democracy in New Zealand,” said Don Brash.

A copy of the polling report can be found at:  https://www.hobsonspledge.nz/polling_report

Since the report’s reluctant release after the election in late 2020 the attacks on democracy and equality before the law have continued unabated, and indeed have accelerated.

But, as explained by Jacinta Ruru, one of the authors of the He Puapua report, there is more to come.

We have started 2022 with the reminder that our “team of 5 million” is yet again being called upon to unite in the protection of our vulnerable and achieve the best outcomes for all New Zealanders.

Since 2016 Hobson’s Pledge has been advocating exactly that message –New Zealanders are one people.

We fight for unity and equality before the law for the "team of 5 million".

Ironically, our opponents misconstrue this message to allege that any discussion challenging the practice of differentiating New Zealanders based on ancestry or race is taboo.

We can't let our opponents succeed in shutting down the defence of equality for all using labels of 'racism'

In 2022 New Zealanders must be afforded a voice to freely and openly discuss social policy, legislation and systems without fear of reprisal and accusations of racism.  

If Kiwis can't have constructive discourse on important issues we will never achieve better outcomes for anyone. The answer is not always more government money and increased intervention.  

The speed with which the Government is forcing us down the path of separatism makes it difficult to refute the conclusion that the He Puapua agenda is being implemented by stealth. It's time this vale of secrecy was removed and that's what Hobson's Pledge will be ensuring in 2022.

More so than ever before, we cannot allow our nation to be further divided based upon what sound like lofty ideals but which actually serve only the narrow interests of a minority who claim to represent all Maori. So often there is a lack of accountability or transparency in the delivery of these race-based initiatives.

The investment in social policy is often skewed by statistics being used to support a conclusion rather than to illuminate the issue. For example, 99.53% of Maori are not in prison but we are reminded constantly of the proportion of the total prison population that is Maori. Based upon these statistics ethnicity does not pre-determine your likelihood of going to prison.  

If the objective is to justify separatism and secure the funding to maintain these policies then this agenda works perfectly. Failure to deliver is almost expected and throwing more money at the solution is always justified.

Generally, New Zealanders have been unwilling to challenge the concepts of co-governance and equity of outcome for fear of the labels that are targeted against anyone that speaks out. Even without our opponents using the smear of 'racism', these conversations aren't easy.

But the narrative of victimhood and the poor outcomes that are cited as justification for separatism must be scrutinised. The blind acceptance of bad social policy justified by reference to unequal outcomes will fail all of us, particularly those who actually have the greatest need.

This social experiment of affirmative action, positive discrimination and separatism has failed wherever it has been implemented.

We cannot encourage and support better outcomes while telling some New Zealanders that they cannot achieve on their own merit and through their own capability due to events that unfolded nearly 200 years ago.

Here at Hobson's Pledge, we've spent the summer planning how to respond to the challenges this Government poses. We're full of energy, urgency and have big plans for the year ahead. We are confident that with your continued support, 2022 can be the year that we change the narrative and stand up against racism in all its forms.

It is not an exaggeration to say, as Don did in his pre-Christmas letter, that we fight for the soul of New Zealand.

To make a confidential donation to Hobson's Pledge, click here.

Thank you for your support.

Casey Costello
Trustee
Hobson’s Pledge

What a year 2021 has been!  For many people, especially those of us who endured the near-four-month lockdown in Auckland and for the many more throughout the country hugely impacted by that lockdown, it has been a truly awful year.

For us at the Hobson’s Pledge Trust, 2021 has brought the realization that we are fighting for the very soul of New Zealand. 

Are we to be a country where every person, regardless of when they or their ancestors came to New Zealand, has equal political rights, as Article III of the Treaty of Waitangi unambiguously promised?

Or are we to become a nation permanently divided by race, with those who chance to have one or more Maori ancestors (always with ancestors of other ethnicities too of course) having forever a preferred constitutional status?

What brought this issue to the attention of all New Zealanders was the release in April of the He Puapua document, prepared during 2019 at the request of the Labour-New Zealand First Government but not released to the public – or even apparently to the New Zealand First part of the Government – until after the 2020 election.

What that document makes crystal clear is that its authors envisage a “co-governed” New Zealand.  Those with some Maori ancestry would have a perpetually privileged status, with their own chamber in a three chamber Parliament – one for those who chance to have some Maori ancestry, one for the rest of us, and a third joint chamber, with a Maori veto, for negotiation between the two divided “partners”.

The Prime Minister denies that this document reflects her Government’s policy, but she has to be telling us less than the whole truth because almost every aspect of her Government’s policy platform this year has reflected the thinking behind He Puapua:

• The plan to confiscate the Three Waters assets of all the local bodies in the country and place them into four enormous entities, drawn along tribal boundaries, and controlled by an equal number of tribal appointees as local body representatives.
• The plan to create two separate health systems, one for those with a Maori ancestor and one for all the rest of us – though with both systems funded by the general taxpayer.
• The removal of the right of ratepayers to have a say about whether they want race-based wards – with legislation passed under urgency to minimize the time ratepayers had to express their views on the matter.
• With moves afoot to give those with a Maori ancestor permanent representation on Environment Canterbury, and plans to create separate Maori wards in Auckland, where there is already an Independent Maori Statutory Board with strong representation on most Auckland Council committees.
• The constant reference to the name of our country in all government documents as Aotearoa, or Aotearoa New Zealand, despite most New Zealanders not wanting any name for our country but New Zealand (as established by a scientific opinion poll), and the ever more frequent use of Maori words in government communications and on taxpayer-funded media, often without any translation – and this despite the fact that only a tiny minority of New Zealanders speak the Maori language.
• The bribery of the media to promote a particular re-interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi.

And it is that interpretation of the Treaty which lies at the heart of the issue.

Did the Treaty involve Maori chiefs surrendering sovereignty in return for being guaranteed their property rights and political equality with all “British subjects”, or did it involve no surrender of sovereignty but instead the promise of some kind of partnership with the head of the mightiest empire the world had seen to that date?

Speeches made by chiefs at the time, and again at Kohimarama in 1860, make it quite clear which of those two interpretations was understood at the time.  And indeed, that is the interpretation which prevailed for nearly the next century and a half.

More importantly, it is the only interpretation which is consistent with a peaceful future, where all citizens have equal political rights without any preference based on race, as politicians as different as David Lange, Winston Peters and David Seymour have made clear.

At Hobson’s Pledge, we are acutely aware of the stakes.  And acutely aware also that without your continuing support we can achieve nothing.  We hugely appreciate that support, and note that it has grown strongly over the year as more and more people have seen the disastrous path the Government is leading us down. 

Our registered supporters now number more than 50,000, and we’re aiming to build that number substantially over the year to come to help us to get politicians to listen and understand: only when politicians of all political stripes can see that we New Zealanders are deadly serious about preserving a colour-blind society will there be a change in direction.

So there is much work to do in the New Year – but until then, thank you for your continuing support for Hobson’s Pledge and New Zealand, and all good wishes.

Don Brash
Founder
Hobson’s Pledge

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta refused to rule out making the reforms mandatory, only confirming the legislated approach in late October.

Cabinet agreed on June 14, 2021, to a mandated approach to the Three Waters reform and spent the next four months telling councils that the plan was voluntary and councils could opt out, according to Cabinet papers quietly released last month.

Radio New Zealand reported this late on Friday afternoon, after news the previous day that introduction of a Three Waters bill would be delayed until next year, See Mandated

“Discussions (during a two-month consultation period) would have been "quite different" if councils had been told about the mandated plan from the outset,” Whangarei mayor Sheryl Mai said.

According to sources in Wellington, there is a standoff between Labour's Maori caucus (who want co-governed water) and the provincial Labour MPs and Cabinet Ministers who are feeling the political heat from widespread opposition to the Government’s proposal.

Dear former New Zealanders . . .

Here is a letter sent in to us:

“I left what was previously known as New Zealand on Friday. No longer could I take the constant racial and cultural division. The communisation and Marxism of the nation that once was the blood that flows through my veins. A sixth-generation New Zealander, my family elders helped build that nation. We even have a small town named in honour of our family.

“I was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. My passport says so. My birth certificate says so. Every legal document I have says so. But all I got for the last four years was Otautahi. Aotearoa. And a whole bunch of other words that I don’t understand because they’re not the nation I was born into, or my children, or grandchildren, or my parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, my great-great-grandparents. No, we were all born in New Zealand.

Read the full letter at https://www.hobsonspledge.nz/peter_clark_dear_former_new_zealanders

He Puapua author fights book-ban attempt

Dr John Robinson, who wrote He Puapua: Blueprint for breaking up New Zealand and other books, has taken One News to task for broadcasting an appeal last week to bookstores to refuse to stock his book and books by his publisher, Tross Publishing.  https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/12/04/educators-say-publishers-books-anti-maori-hateful-and-untrue/

The claim of “half-truths and out-right lies” (in his He Puapua book), unsupported by any clear example, is unacceptable from anyone, let alone a university lecturer (who attacked him on television), Dr Robinson wrote in a statement titled “TV1 News has proposed a ban on sales of books”.

“As my book makes clear, the separatist movement that is clearly described in the He Puapua report is aimed at destroying democracy and setting up a three-chamber legislation for New Zealand (one for Maori, a second for the others but with a strong Maori presence, and a third joint chamber, with a Maori veto, for negotiation between the two divided ‘partners’),” he wrote. 

“There are no “half-truths and out-right lies” here. These comments are supported by quotes from Maori activists and lengthy quotes from key sources, such as the He Puapua report,” he wrote.

Campaign update

Since the Maori Party declared war on “coloniser names”, and since Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta revealed that the Three Waters plan would be forced on councils, we have experienced a surge both in numbers of supporters and donations, for which we are deeply grateful.

Your financial support enabled spending on three advertising campaigns.

Thirteen billboards erected in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, during November, reminded everyone that we live in New Zealand, not Aotearoa. The billboards certainly attracted attention. Every billboard was attacked.

A dual New Zealand, not Aotearoa/Three waters social media campaign, active until just before Christmas, helped increase signatures on our petition and on our letter to the Prime Minister. 

A two-week Three Waters radio campaign on the NewsTalk ZB network throughout New Zealand widened awareness of the co-governance aspect of water infrastructure seizure.

Buying advertising space is not cheap. Those three campaigns chewed through around $60,000.

Your engagement as citizens concerned about the racist Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill led to thousands of submissions being sent in.

For five years, we have been keeping pressure on MPs over pending race-based legislation, and on councillors, over tribal appointees and Maori wards.

The decision to defer introducing three waters legislation could be a sign that this work is making a difference.

New Zealand, not Aotearoa

Nearly 35,000 have signed our petition calling on our Prime Minister to affirm publicly that the name of our nation is New Zealand, not Aotearoa. If you have not yet signed, click here  https://www.hobsonspledge.nz/new_zealand_not_aotearoa and like and share the page.

Dear Prime Minister . . .

More than 14,000 have signed our open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern which says that we are especially worried about the iwi entitlement to governance of Three Waters. If you have not done so already, you may sign the letter at https://www.hobsonspledge.nz/letter_to_jacinda

Dump two governments plan

Nearly 24,000 have signed our He Puapua petition calling on the Prime Minister to reject outright and cease implementing all aspects of the two-government plan as described in He Puapua, the plan presented as realising in New Zealand the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. If you have not already done so, click here to sign  Reject co-governance.

Beaches for us all

And our petition which asks Parliament to amend the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 to restore public ownership of the coastal area, put all claims through the High Court, and repeal customary marine title, while affirming customary rights, has picked up nearly 48,000 signatures. The petition may be signed at https://www.change.org/beaches4all

Frequently asked questions

• What is Hobson's Pledge? Hobson’s Pledge supporters think it is absurd to argue in the 21st century that people who chance to have a Maori ancestor, always with other ancestors too of course, should have superior rights to those who don’t.  And utterly absurd that there are politicians who want to be taken seriously who still push this nonsense.
• What are the issues we're facing today?
• What are our campaigns?

Join the debate on Facebook. You may visit this page at https://www.facebook.com/hobsonspledge/

Visit our website at http://www.hobsonspledge.nz/

Grow the movement. Forward this email to your friends and family

Donate. Visit https://hobsonspledge.nationbuilder.com/donate

Buy a book. Visit http://www.hobsonspledge.nz/resources

Former MP and founder of Te Tai Tokerau Border Control Hone Harawira flying the Maori sovereignty flag at a checkpoint.

Time is running out to make your submission against the racist Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill that is currently being rushed through Parliament. The Bill will replace the New Zealand Health and Disability Act 2000 with an apartheid structure presented as Treaty partnership in action while claiming it will achieve equitable outcomes for Maori health.

Thank you for supporting massive protest

Thank you to those who taped a sign to your vehicle and drove the Groundswell route through the town nearest you on Sunday.

National MP Nicola Willis showed the unprecedented Three Waters headline to Parliament. Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta accused councils of spreading misinformation.

One of a number of billboards around our cities drawing attention to the actual name of our country, not the mythical name that is being quietly imposed. Our petition calling on the Prime Minister to delete any reference in official communication to any name for our nation other than New Zealand may be signed at https://www.hobsonspledge.nz/new_zealand_not_aotearoa.

You may have missed it but the Water Services Act that became law a week ago quietly added to legislation water “partnership” while establishing a framework “to provide transparency about the performance of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater networks and network operators”.

The Three Waters Plan centralizes national water management while indulging iwi demands for ownership of water, according to businessman Gary Judd QC.

It’s questionable that the New Zealand Government has any legitimacy, the state must give up some power, and New Zealand has a lopsided view of democracy, which should not be tyranny of the majority.

ACT Party leader David Seymour hit a “perfect symbol of something the left worships as sacred” this week when he dared to question race-based policy by tweeting a Covid-19 vaccination priority access code for Maori. The New Zealand Herald printed Mr Seymour’s reply to the hornets who swarmed out of the nest, and that reply was top of the Herald's website all night. Mr Seymour’s reply is a succinct statement of all that Hobson’s Pledge has been fighting for. The full text is reproduced below. Please enjoy: 

ACT Party leader David Seymour.

ACT Party leader put the spotlight on state racism when he tweeted an image of a code reserved for Maori and said: "If you're worried about vaccination waiting times, you no longer need to make an appointment. All you need to do is use this access code."

The outrage was predictable. However, none of the outraged have provided any evidence of any person disadvantaged in the vaccine rollout by the fact that they have a Maori ancestor.

"The virus doesn't discriminate on race, so neither should the rollout," Seymour said. Hobson’s Pledge agrees.