Elliott Ikilei
Hobson’s Pledge
Every so often, an issue pops up that reminds us exactly why Hobson’s Pledge exists. And in the past week, we’ve seen it in full colour. A small but vocal group of schools proudly announcing that they will continue prioritising “giving effect to the Treaty of Waitangi” above everything else.
Focus on educational excellence? Nah.
Lifting student achievement? Nope.
Making sure children can read, write, or do maths? Who cares about that?!
No, no, no, according to these principals and boards, their highest calling is not education at all, but the Treaty.
This reveals just how deeply ideological parts of the education sector have become. The obsession with “Treaty principles” has replaced academic excellence with political indoctrination, and instead of uniting kids as New Zealanders, it divides them by race.
We are a nation of many cultures, but we should be one people as New Zealanders. But the loudest activists in these schools insist on pulling us apart.
As you already know, Minister Erica Stanford initially proposed that the paramount objective for every school in the country would be to “give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi.”
We challenged that. Hard. We said it was wrong.
We did that because the Treaty obligations belong to the Crown, not schools, not boards, not unions and not councils. The Treaty is a relationship between the Crown and iwi. Schools are not part of that constitutional relationship.
Thanks to Hobson’s Pledge supporters like you, the government listened.
Minister Stanford reversed course and removed the requirement for school boards to “give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi” in the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2).
But now? Now, we have a backlash from politicised principals and boards who are so committed to hating this government that they would complain if it gave them one million dollars in extra funding because it wasn’t a million and one dollars.
So the media have amplified the virtue signalling of a handful of schools which have announced that they will ignore the law entirely and carry on as if nothing has changed.
Their message to the government is clear:
“We’ll take your money, but not your rules.”
These are the same schools that only weeks ago were demanding higher pay and better conditions from the very government they’re now openly defying.
Well, if our inbox is anything to go by, Kiwi parents aren’t happy with their schools behaving like this. Funny thing is, most parents would like their kids’ school to focus on teaching them to read and write!
Below are just some of the statements schools have been making that our supporters have been sending in:
- “Our commitment to culturally responsive and relational pedagogy and Treaty principles is not driven by legislation, but by a foundational belief in fairness and justice...”
- “We view this proposed change as a step backward in honouring the unique partnership between tangata whenua and the Crown. It diminishes the commitment to equity, inclusion, and cultural identity that underpin our education system, and it undermines the foundational principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi that guide our work as educators and kaitaiki of our rangatahi.”
- “No matter what changes at government level, our values and actions stay firm. We honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our governance. We reflect it in our curriculum and teaching.”
- “We believe that providing true equitable outcomes for Māori and all students is not possible without our ongoing commitment to giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This commitment continues to guide our governance, our curriculum, and our relationships across our school community.”
- “[Our school] will continue to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a living covenant and to honour our role in protecting and promoting te reo Māori, tikanga and matauranga Māori within our kura and community.”
- “We want to reaffirm our school’s and board’s unwavering commitment to giving effect to Te Tiriti.”
- “Upholding the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is both an ethical and professional responsibility.”
- “Our current strategic plan including its Te Tiriti commitments remains… and our everyday practice will continue regardless of any legislative change.”
There you have it.
Not reason.
Not democracy.
Not the law.
Just ideological moral superiority.
When you ask what this actually means in practice in the classroom – what changes, what teaching practices, what outcomes – they can’t answer.
Why?
Because it’s not about education. It’s about pushing a political worldview on to children.
The government has made it abundantly clear that they expect schools to be focused on improving outcomes for all children. If these teachers, principals, and BOT virtue signallers were serious about wanting to uphold the Treaty and do right by Māori they would stop going on about the Treaty and its so-called principles and would get on with making sure every Māori kid in their classrooms could read, write, and do maths.
Our young people deserve teachers who see them as individuals, not as members of racial categories.
They deserve a system where every child is lifted up, not one where some are defined as privileged and others as permanently disadvantaged. And they deserve teachers who follow the law, not ones who think they’re running their own personal kingdom and can ignore the laws.
We are calling on the government to ensure that schools follow the law as written. Because the law is clear. Reforms will only work when schools actually implement them.
And let’s knock down another myth while we’re here:
Nobody is banning the Treaty.
Nobody is removing Treaty history.
Nobody is banning te reo Māori.
The only change is removing the absurd idea that the highest purpose of a school is to “give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi”, and replacing it with something every parent in the country actually wants:
“A board’s paramount objective in governing a school is to ensure that every student at the school is able to attain their highest possible standard in educational achievement.”
This is the New Zealand we believe in.
Equal. Fair. United.
Focused on outcomes, not ideology.
But as the grandstanding schools have made crystal clear, the fight isn’t over. Some activists will defy parliament unless they are put back in their place.
That is why our One Law for All campaign is so important.
You helped us win this round.
Now let’s push on with the next step: a New Zealand that values us all regardless of whether we have an ancestor who arrived in the first waka, a British ship, or an aeroplane from the islands.
Stand for equality.
Stand for democracy.
Stand for a New Zealand where every child gets the education they deserve.
He iwi tahi tātou. We are one people.
This article was originally published on the author’s social media.
