Don Brash
Hobson’s Pledge
Last week was a busy week here at Hobson’s Pledge as we continue to challenge the government to honour its coalition agreements and to stop allowing separatism in New Zealand. Among other activities, we have sent a number of letters to Ministers and MPs and wanted to share these with you for each issue is important to be aware of.
We also need your help, particularly where the government is actively putting more separatism into law...
ANOTHER LAW ENTRENCHING MĀORI SEPARATISM
You may be aware the government is progressing a Gene Technology Bill. As an organisation, Hobson’s Pledge takes no position on gene technologies, of course. However, we do take strong objection to the way the proposed law seeks to enshrine more separatism, and have written to Minister Shane Reti, who is in charge of the bill.
There are multiple clauses within the bill that apply separate rights for Māori. For example, there are references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi as well as the creation of a technical advisory committee and a Māori advisory committee. Last time we checked, genetics are universal and fundamental to all living organisms, and so we have asked Minister Reti why his bill needs to start applying distinctions based on race.
We also ask how his inclusion of more race-based separatism is possible when you look at the National Party and New Zealand First coalition agreement that clearly addresses equal citizenship. Among many references, this one stood out to us:
The coalition government will work to improve outcomes for all New Zealanders, and will not advance policies that seek to ascribe different rights and responsibilities to New Zealanders on the basis of their race or ancestry.
In our letter to Minister Reti, we’ve asked how he reconciles his bill that gives different rights and responsibilities based on race and ancestry to some, with the statements in this coalition agreement.
You can amplify our message by supporting our letter.
We’ve set up a small online tool where you can endorse the letter we sent to Minister Reti. Click here to remind him of the coalition agreement and that the majority of New Zealanders want us to be a single united country.
WHAT’S HAPPENED TO MACA, MINISTER?
Hobson’s Pledge has also been following up with Minister Paul Goldsmith about the Marine and Coastal Amendment Bill. The amendment bill seems to have stalled with the government doing a great impression of treading water.
As you know, the amendment bill was required to ensure parliament’s original intention was honoured and not the radical re-interpretation of the courts. We won’t go through the whole history again, but the original Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act in 2011 provided tests for iwi to prove they had undisputed and ongoing ownership of coastal areas.
At the time, parliament was told that up to 10 per cent of New Zealand’s coastline might be claimable but after the courts performed an array of judicial acrobatics, pretty much the whole coastline became claimable – and, as you would expect, claims flooded in.
The new minister, Paul Goldsmith, rightly moved to amend the law and restore parliament’s will. However, it’s all gone quiet so we’ve written to the minister to offer Hobson’s Pledge’s support.
The amendment bill needs a few tweaks to ensure the courts do not continue to interfere or redefine what can be claimed. We’ve offered to help provide the necessary legal wording – at some considerable cost to Hobson’s Pledge I might add – and to support the progress of the bill. To date, silence. Nothing.
We are concerned that the government thinks the MACA issue is forgotten or over. It is not. We have written several times to Minister Goldsmith now and will continue to do so – both urging he ensures the bill is passed and offering our services to complete the drafting.
As I say, obtaining legal advice to assist the government in getting this right costs money. If you want to chip in, you can donate here.
TIME TO INVESTIGATE THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Minister Goldsmith received ANOTHER letter from us. This one calling for an inquiry into the Electoral Commission. You will have heard about the dodginess that happened at Manurewa Marae last election. New Zealanders’ personal information was collected by the marae via their various government contracts and then (allegedly) used to campaign for Te Pāti Māori.
A report by the Public Service Commission has slammed what happened and noted multiple faults by government agencies. However, no investigation has been launched looking into the Electoral Commission who, among other things, used the marae as an election voting venue. A venue that saw votes for Te Pāti Māori tallied well in excess of any other booth and which saw the then CEO of Manurewa Marae become an MP by a slim margin of only 42 votes!
Surely that is worth a look!
There are many questions to be answered by the Electoral Commission around it’s handling of this entire situation and how it even came to use a marae that was so politically compromised. As we told the minister, it is important for public confidence that he authorise an investigation into the commission.
COMPULSARY TIKANGA
The Regulations Review committee were also recipients of a Hobson’s Pledge letter! This letter was in support of Gary Judd KC’s complaint about the New Zealand Council of Legal Education imposing tikanga as a core compulsory subject for law students.
Once again, the issue is being avoided by parliament to play out elsewhere. It is dragging out and little is happening – so Hobson’s Pledge is doing our part to push things along.
We told the chair of the committee:
the Tikanga Regulations are just one example in a long list of such cultural courses that are being imposed on professionals of all stripes, from real estate agents to pharmacists, nurses and psychologists. Such courses and requirements unduly trespass against law students’ and aspiring lawyer’s rights and freedoms, including their rights to freedom of thought, conscience, belief and speech.
Just as with Janet Dickson and her fight with the Real Estate Agents Authority, we oppose this ever-growing push to indoctrinate people via their professional organisations. It has to stop.
GREEN MP BREACHES STANDING ORDERS FROM BED
Yes, you read that right. A Green MP, who has been having a terrible week by the way, filmed herself having a lie down and in an attempt to attack Hobson’s Pledge trustee Elliot Ikilei has breached parliament’s rules.
It is hardly any wonder Tamatha Paul wants to abolish prisons and the police when she has such disdain for rules.
We’ve written to the chair of the Justice Committee to draw his attention to this breach of Standing Orders as we see it. We also cc’d in Speaker Gerry Brownlee.
In her mocking TikTok video, she shares information that is confidential to the select committee. She discusses the number of submissions that the committee has received and how they were handled. In doing so, she has breached Standing Orders, which state clearly that such information is confidential until the committee presents its report.
We are tired of the likes of the Greens and Te Pāti Māori continuing to talk a big game about protocols (tikanga) and yet are more than happy to snub their noses at the rules of parliament – be it leaking confidential information or performing threatening haka. They need to be called out.
We will keep you updated on what happens.
This article was originally published by Hobson’s Pledge.
