As you know from last week’s email, Janet Dickson lost her case against the Real Estate Authority.

The High Court ruled that it is perfectly legal to force professionals like Janet to undergo political, cultural, and spiritual courses – in this case, Māori tikanga and the Treaty – with little to no relevance to their actual professions.

We here at Hobson’s Pledge are appalled by the decision, and as we have supported Janet from the outset, we will continue to do so with your support.

The question everyone must ask is: Who is next?

Currently, it is Janet and the Real Estate Authority, but which organisations are next? What are the next set of courses and requirements, with a strong political, cultural, or spiritual bias, that will be forced onto everyday New Zealanders?

Hobson’s Pledge already know the answer because we can see these courses expanding.

You may recall an earlier message to you about the Nurses Association expecting nurses to prioritise culture over medicine.

More recently, the Pharmacy Council has issued new competency guidelines which include “advocating for giving effect to te Tiriti at all levels” and “prioritising Māori voices.”

These have nothing to do with pharmaceutical management, but everything to do with political and cultural agendas. There are many more examples.

The High Court’s decision should send chills down the spine of every New Zealander simply trying to get on with their job. It says that any regulatory body, particularly those captured by activists, can force any array of nonsensical ideas onto members of their organisations.

Even the idea of ‘freedom of speech’ went out the window, with Janet effectively being told that she was not allowed to speak, but instead simply had to listen.

We view this as compulsion, and worse still, the penalty for her is the loss of her practising licence for five years.

The Minister needs to act but seems to think she has the matter in hand. She does not.

Minister Nicole McKee believes it was enough to write a letter to the Real Estate Authority (REA) saying she does not agree with the five-year ban and wants to update legislation accordingly. But this does not address the core of the issue.

In fact, all the letter has done is highlight the harsh consequences of the REA’s decision, but it does not address the problem. The real problem is the ability of these organisations to force New Zealanders to undergo indoctrination in political, cultural, or spiritual matters.

It has to stop, and we need your help.

Firstly, we are going to continue backing Janet, and along with her lawyers, are considering an appeal.

This costs a lot of money, so please consider donating generously so that Hobson’s Pledge can continue to back her. We have already spent tens of thousands of dollars, and many more will be needed.

Secondly, back our call for the Government to act. The easiest and most appropriate solution to this problem is through a change in legislation.

Make contact with your local member of parliament and ask them to fix this issue, changing the law to ensure no one is compelled into such courses.

This is most pressing if your MP is from ACT, New Zealand First, or National. These are the governing parties and have the power to make this simple but necessary change.

Please also write to Minister Nicole McKee –[email protected]– and ask her to use the very powers she has as Minister, along with the philosophies of the ACT Party that she is part of, to make the necessary and sensible decisions to change the law.

All three parties have spoken against the use of power to pursue political or ideological causes. You need only think about their reaction to a bank that wanted to use its power to defund customers who didn’t fit their climate agenda, in this case, legitimate coal mining businesses.

The situation with Janet is little different. She should not be bullied by her professional organisation, and the Government must step in and stop this abuse.

Please help us help Janet, and all New Zealanders. As we said at the start – who’s next?