In calling on Parliament to deny ratepayers the right to veto council decisions to create racially-based political structures, Local Government New Zealand reveals just how totally out of touch they are with the views of the overwhelming majority of ratepayers, Don Brash said today in response to a press release from LGNZ.

Kaikoura will vote on a Maori ward after the required 300 signatures on a petition for a vote were validated today.

A defamation action taken by Sir Robert Jones over the definition of hate speech is long overdue, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

At Ratana Pa last Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern kicked off the political year when she said “we will never have fulfilled our obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi or the prophesies of Ratana” until “we” have improved Maori social indicators.

More than 60 percent of voters and ratepayers in the Western Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, and Palmerston North disagree with a proposal by their councils to set up Maori wards, a poll commissioned by equality group Hobson’s Pledge revealed today.

A decision by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council two days ago to establish one or more Maori wards is patronizing nonsense, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

Many who voted for New Zealand First with their party vote will feel deeply betrayed, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today. 

The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 has a number of problems, according to a legal opinion obtained by Hobson’s Pledge on correspondence relating to the Act and the huge number of last-minute claims by Maori groups earlier this year. Wellington law firm Franks Ogilvie wrote:

Dear Prime Minister, you will be aware that over the last few weeks more than 100 claims have been made to the high Court by iwi under the Marine and Coastal (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 for customary marine title and protected customary rights.

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