Fifty years of Government appeasement of gangs, especially Maori, came to the summit of Te Mata Peak near Hastings last Saturday when the Mongrel Mob in full regalia held a ritual as the public were excluded and the police did traffic duty. Gang members were heard barking like dogs and shouting “sieg f***ing heil”.

Thank you for the support that has flooded in since Wednesday when the New Zealand Maori Council called for an investigation into Hobson’s Pledge by the Human Rights Commission.

Virtue-signalling trumped rational debate when the Hastings District Council voted 10-4 on Thursday to enable four members of the Maori Joint Committee to sit and vote on the council’s four standing committees. The vote went through after an email campaign from Hobson's Pledge encouraging councillors to vote against the motion. Councillors received over 100 emails each.

A claim under the Treaty of Waitangi on spectrum resurfaced this week as Spark worked towards launching superfast fifth generation 5G mobile internet on July 1 next year.

This is a submission against a proposal by the Palmerston North City Council to set up a Maori ward because there is no evidence that this is a step strongly desired by Maori roll voters, because sufficient opportunities for all citizens are available to contribute to decision-making processes, and because Maori wards set up elsewhere have not increased participation by Maori voters. If the council wishes to test this option, the council should put the matter to a vote. The submission is on behalf of equality group Hobson’s Pledge set up to debate such issues. Hobson’s Pledge members agree that there is no longer any need for special Maori representation in government, whether it be Maori electorates in Parliament, Independent Maori Statutory Board in Auckland, or racially based representation in other governance bodies.

Yesterday’s recommendation by the Hastings District Council Maori joint committee against Maori wards for the district reflects messages we are receiving from the public, Hobson’s Pledge spokesperson Don Brash said today.