Yesterday we brought you the excellent news that the Supreme Court has determined that the Court of Appeals "erred" in their ruling on the claims brought under the Marine and Coastal Areas Act.

Today, iwi lawyer, architect of the original MACA Bill, and former Attorney-General Chris Finlayson is quoted in NBR calling for the Government to abandon its amendment Bill in light of the Supreme Court decision.

No. That is not an option. One ruling is not indicative of an end to judicial activism. The Marine and Coastal Areas Amendment Bill is vital to setting parameters so that we don't have to take things up to Supreme Court level every time because lower courts think the law should be interpreted in their political image.

We will be making our position clear on this and reaching out to our contacts to emphasise that Hobson's Pledge expects that Bill to proceed regardless. On the off chance you happen to bump into a minister, make sure you tell them to pass the damn Bill too!

Massey University endorses Te Pāti Māori

It has become fashionable for organisations of any kind to take public stances on political matters that have nothing to do with their purpose or cause.

I also find it quite presumptuous that they think that New Zealanders are hanging out to hear what Papamoa's Knitting Circle or The Greymouth Premier Chess Clubthink about a piece of legislation.

It is even worse when it is publicly funded institutions making grand political declarations. This week, the Free Speech Union posted that they were approached by a staff member from Massey University who shared that official banners for staff members to put in their emails were distributed that emphatically assert support for Toitū Te Tiriti. 

As most of us have figured out by now, Toitū Te Tiriti are simply Te Pāti Māori with a slightly different hat on. Winston Peters describes them as an "astroturf group".

Massey's endorsement of Toitū Te Tiriti and Te Pāti Māori destroys any claim of political neutrality the university might wish to make. Among their large number of staff there will inevitably be many different perspectives on this issue and this activism falsely suggests that they are all in agreement.

I don't know about you, Paige, but I resent my taxes going to institutions that so explicitly endorse the politics of a party that is observably extremist and often utterly contemptuous of our laws and Parliament.

I think it is fair to assume that the university would not allow a similar banner with "Support the Treaty Principles Bill" on it.

Rāhui are being treated as law by police - didn't we warn about this?

Remember when, not long ago at all, we ran an ad on the front page of the NZ Herald and Māori activists complained en masse that we were promoting "disinformation"?

Well, one of the key things they took issue with was that we claimed that rāhui were one way that iwi could restrict access to beaches. They pointed to the fact that the law is vague on rāhui and that they are usually not enforceable. We argued that a culture of de facto enforcement has taken hold in New Zealand whereby dominant cultural influencers like politicians and media treat rāhui as official and enforceable. As a consequence, the police, rangers, and other people of authority behave as if they are the law even if they are not.

This week we had a stark example of this.

Why are the New Zealand Police issuing a statement about a religious/cultural concept declared by local iwi?

Will the police fine or arrest any person who ignores the rāhui? 

The job of the police is to enforce the laws of New Zealand. Not to communicate and enforce the beliefs and practices of a select cultural group.

The Herald is deleting comments it disagrees with

I have previously shared with you one example of the NZ Herald deleting entire comment threads on articles because they weren't reflecting the opinions they wanted them to. 

We aren't talking about abusive or threatening comments. We are talking about comments in support of the Treaty Principles Bill, for example. 

Since I informed you about this last week, we have observed the practice of deleting in more articles related to the Bill or race relations in New Zealand. The vast majority of these comments are in line with what a Hobson's Pledge supporter might say. They are pro-one law for all and pro-equality.

Yesterday, it was an article on the Supreme Court ruling. One sharp-eyed supporter noted that after around 42 comments, and 40 minutes after commenting was opened, the NZ Herald closed it down and deleted readers’ thoughts. 

This is an outrageous display of contempt for their subscribers (they are the only ones who can comment). It is censorious and it highlights what we are up against when it comes to informing New Zealanders about what the Bill is really about. 

If you happen to be a Herald subscriber, I encourage you to enquire why they are deleting comments reflecting a particular viewpoint on Treaty articles. Tell them that included in your subscription is the ability to comment on articles and it is completely inappropriate for a moderator to delete them - not because they are violent - but because the Herald staff are as woke as the Wellington public service. 

Orwell must have been a time traveller

The 21st Century seems to be a rollercoaster of Orwellian nightmares running on a loop. George Orwell's 1984 is a treasure trove of quotes that are painfully relatable for any of us being battered by the culture wars. 

I came across a quote recently and I couldn't help but think of all the Treaty revisionism we have endured over the last few decades. I thought of how the iconic Sir Āpirana Ngata has gone from a man respected by all to having his wise words torn apart by Māori activists. The sudden assertion that Māori did not cede sovereignty is another example. Never mind the extensive records of speeches in 1840 at Waitangi and 1860 at Kohimarama nor the earlier reports of the Waitangi Tribunal - those have been memory-holed.

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”

Actions to take

I'm again going to bang the drum of the Treaty Principles Bill. I appreciate that I am repeating myself, but this is too important not to ensure every last person possible submits on the Bill. If you have already done so, please encourage others to do so too.

Please remember that written submissions for the Treaty Principles Bill are only open until the 7th of January 2025.

Additionally, it is important that we apply pressure on the Prime Minister and National as they have already sworn not to pass the Bill. We created an easy email tool for you to send an email to Christopher Luxon telling him to support the Bill.His timidity around Treaty issues is not good enough and he should know that.

You're likely to hear from me or Elliot again soon as there doesn't seem to be a day go by without important news about the Treaty, New Zealand's future, and race relations.