I'm sure you've been wondering what is happening with Hobson's Pledge's legal defence of Don.

First, I want to say thank you! Your contribution to Don's Defence fund has ensured that we could assure lawyers of support to take the next steps.

Letters have been going back and forth with Matthew Hooton's lawyers. True to form Hooton attempted to dodge accountability by posting a partial and barbed apology on his Patreon account (but not to his mailing list) and palming it off to Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury to read aloud at the end of a podcast episode.

Not good enough. He tried to frame up his rant as just part of a 'debate' with Don, when he has not bothered to engage on the real isues with Don for many years.

As it has been so vital to the go-ahead for this important action, we’re sharing with supporters who have helped make it happen, the letter that went to Hooton's lawyers today. You can also see the 'Statement of Claim' to be filed next week, if he continues to fudge.

You can read the letter here.

And the Statement of Claim here.

Money matters:

There has been some discussion of remedies and costs to be paid if Hooton is to avoid a law-suit. We’ve redacted those aspects from the letter and Statement of Claim because those negotiations are live. Defamation action in New Zealand is notoriously expensive. Defamation liability is a vital part of society’s defences against the pollution of public discourse with coldly calculated lies – the true ‘disinformation’. So the compensation awards have to be large now. That is the only way to ensure that even winners are not losers. They get vindicated when the court establishes that lies have been spread about them. But they need to win both compensation and a legal cost award, to cover the costs and the risks of the action. Don has made it clear that when he gets vindication, anything left over will go to Hobson's Pledge. 

Next steps:

Hopefully, my next update to you will be that Hooton has made a full apology and delivered it in appropriate forums. We would love to see this resolved without having things escalate further. But, if Hooton is determined to drag this on, we will lodge the Statement of Claim on Monday.

The ability for us to bring lawyers on board to defend Don is important not only because he has dedicated decades to arguing for equality and unity in New Zealand in measured ways, but because the same slurs Hooton so appallingly threw out about Don get used against all of us who share Don's vision for New Zealand.

We should be able to have discussions about the future of our country and object to different rights based on who one's ancestors were without being attacked and called names. 

We have all taken so much on the chin, especially over the last few years, and we shouldn't have to. This legal action represents us standing up and refusing to be demeaned, demonised, and silenced by bullies. 

It means the world to Don and to all of us at Hobson's Pledge that you are standing with us.