It looks as if whether to have a referendum on the Maori electorates will become a defining issue in the post-election negotiations.

A few weeks ago, The Economist – almost certainly the finest English-language weekly newspaper in the world – carried an editorial and accompanying article describing the consequences of policies designed to improve the lot of Malays in Malaysia, first adopted in 1971 and intended to last for just 20 years.

Over recent months, I’ve talked to a number of friends who disagree with what Hobson’s Pledge is trying to achieve.  They have accepted the “current orthodoxy” that Maori chiefs really didn’t cede sovereignty when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, or perhaps didn’t understand that that was what they were doing; and that because the Treaty created a “partnership” between Maori and the Crown, this entitles the descendants of those who signed the Treaty to some special political status nearly 180 years later. 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the second occasion on which I have addressed your Club on the last Tuesday of January, and I very much appreciate your invitation. Soon after becoming leader of the National Party, I outlined my five main priorities.

Waikato-Tainui would be a bit more guarded in gloating about their “record year of results and growth” if they knew what New Zealanders think about their tax-exempt status, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

A total 91.1 percent of us support the idea that the Government should treat all of us equally at law irrespective of ethnicity, a poll commissioned by Hobson’s Pledge released today revealed.

Hobson’s Pledge spokespersons Don Brash and Casey Costello will discuss the Palmerston North City Council’s Maori ward proposal at a meeting tonight at the Palmerston North Library.

A flyer challenging Prime Minister Bill English’s record on a single standard of citizenship went out to 1.6 million households today. The flyer that calls on everyone to use their vote in this year’s election “to end National’s race-based policies” was distributed by equal rights group Hobson’s Pledge.

Why on earth would Auckland Mayor Phil Goff favour Maori wards in Auckland, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today. A bill in the name of Green MP Marama Davidson which would allow councils to create Maori wards without triggering a referendum has been drawn from the ballot.

Billboards reminding voters how much the National-led Government has bent over backwards to satisfy separatist demands went up in Auckland and Wellington today.

The billboards were erected by Hobson’s Pledge, a group fronted by Auckland business manager Casey Costello and former National Party leader Don Brash to make equality of citizenship a key issue for this election.