Last Wednesday’s auction of possibly the only remaining printed copy of Governor William Hobson's original proclamation of British sovereignty over New Zealand is a reminder of exactly how Britain took control of New Zealand.

If “kainga” means “Maori village” and “ora” means “our”, renaming state housing as “our Maori village”, as the Kainga Ora–Homes and Communities Bill intends, appears an accurate name for housing that is largely occupied by Maori families.

Today’s allegation by the Maori Council that holding young alleged offenders in police cells breaches the Treaty of Waitangi is the height of nonsense, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said today.

Complaints by residents of Point Chevalier, Auckland, about a flyer promoting a book titled One Treaty One Nation calling for rights to be determined by citizenship and not race highlights naivete about the history of New Zealand.

Since Don Brash was first invited to speak at the Lower Marae at Waitangi and then shouted down by the event organiser’s wife, he was invited to speak at Sturges West Community House in Henderson, Auckland, last night. Here is what he told the audience that included strong supporters and those who strongly disagreed.

Maori and the Crown are not partners in any sense of the word yet an ideology of Treaty partnership has hijacked the Treaty of Waitangi, Don Brash will explain at a public lecture on Saturday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s apparent inability to say what Articles one and two of the Treaty of Waitangi said serves as a timely reminder about the simple contents of the Treaty.

Tena koutou ki a koutou a Ngapuhi, E hari ana taku ngakau ki te mihi atu ki a koutou, He iwi kotahi tatou, No reira tena koutou.

Can I begin my comments today by saying how much I appreciate your invitation?  I have no doubt that some of you see me as a racist of the worst kind.  It is a great tribute to you that you are nevertheless willing to have me here today, at this place of great importance in our history, even though you may disagree with me on a whole raft of fundamental issues. 

A House Divided

In 2011, the Fifth National Government set up a Constitutional Advisory Panel (CAP) as part of a confidence and supply agreement the National Party had with the Maori Party.

Although there was no pressing need to make any changes to New Zealand’s unwritten constitution, and despite the fact that there had been a constitutional review just six years before that date which found that there was no need to make any changes, the new panel set out on a two-year process of poorly-attended public meetings and seeking submissions.

The goal appeared to be to create a written constitution that was based on a particular interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Government panel sparked the formation of the hard-left Independent Constitutional Working Group, which promoted the constitution of the “plurinational” socialist state of Bolivia as the way to go.

Another group called the Independent Constitutional Review Panel appeared and did its own consultation and this became the basis of a report titled A House Divided.

Constitutional law establishes the very basic framework of how our society is run, and short and simple changes there can have immense and irrevocable effects.

It seemed to the authors of A House Divided that the official constitutional advisory process was fundamentally flawed, being designed in its terms of reference, personnel and procedures to operate and produce predetermined results without any actual genuine public awareness or input.

They had little confidence that the official CAP would reflect the widespread public unease and discontent with the ongoing progression of the Treaty industry.

Worst of all, it seemed to them that the CAP, and the intellectual and political interests it was designed to serve, were unaware, or at least not concerned about, the immense dangers into which that continued progression was leading our country.    

The Independent Constitutional Review Panel suspected that its own public meetings, advertisements and general agitation did at least as much as the official panel’s activities to bring the issues to public attention.

Their findings may be read here. See https://www.nzcpr.com/a-house-divided/   

A new School Journal comic book aimed at 10- to 12-year-olds with a Year 6 reading level shows indoctrination about the Treaty of Waitangi in action.