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Hobson’s Pledge recieves apology
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Hobson’s Pledge recieves apology

Auckland University has apologised for publishing an article that described the lobby group Hobson’s Pledge as “a racist and militantly anti-Māori group”.

Former National Party leader Don Brash is the spokesperson for Hobson’s Pledge. He said after reading the article, he asked the university to retract the statement about the group.

“Hobson’s Pledge was described as racist and militantly anti-Māori and that is an absolute nonsense. We are not racist and we are not anti-Māori. The co-spokesperson for Hobson’s Pledge is herself Māori, we are in no sense anti-Māori and in no sense racist,” said Dr Brash.

Dr Brash said he was satisfied with the university’s apology.

He said the Hobson’s Pledge group lobbies for the same political rights for everybody…..

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news

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Hobson’s Pledge to oppose Maori favouritism

Hobson's Pledge

Don Brash fronts a new group to fight the Maori gravy train. Named Hobson’s Pledge, the group’s mission is to bring New Zealand toward equality for all New Zealanders and end race-based policies and privileges. It calls itself an anti-separatism’ group and brings back the Iwi vs Kiwi campaign from 10 years ago.

Many Pakeha are fed up with politicians pandering to Maori radicals and with the false sense of Maori entitlement that pervades New Zealand society in the 21st century. It is not that many Pakeha feel that they need a leg up or special privilege, rather they just want what many other civilised nations have, equality for all citizens regardless of race. In short, many New Zealanders are apposed to Apartheid, that wretched system enforced through legislation that divides people by race.

More than 10 years ago, Don Brash launched the Iwi vs Kiwi campaign and went into an election with the the idea of New Zealand being a nation of one people regardless of race. His party narrowly missed out winning the 2005 election and with Labour in power followed by a John Key led National Party, we have seen Maori try to claim everything from rights to fresh water to fishing rights in the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary.

This kind of behaviour is despised by many New Zealanders who feel like second-class citizens in their own country. With no lobby group or political party to hear their voice, many New Zealanders vent their frustration in blogs, social media, and internet forums. It seemed only a matter of time before some kind of funded group or party would arise to voice their concerns.

Arise ‘Hobson’s Pledge’, a group that derives it’s title from Governor Hobson who upon the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. greeted each Maori chief with the following pledge: “he iwi tahi tatou” – “we are now one people”. The group’s ideals can be summed up in this paragraph that appears on their homepage.

Our vision for New Zealand is a society in which all citizens are equal before the law, irrespective of when they or their ancestors arrived in this land.

Hobson’s Pledge is a funded group that will put their weight behind any political party that commit to the following ideals:

  • Remove all reference to consultation with any ethnic group from the proposed changes to the Resource Management Act;
  • Hold a referendum on scrapping separate Maori electorates;
  • Drop the proposal to grant tribal trusts special powers to control the allocation of water – something previously regarded as the exclusive province of local government.

Justification for Hobson’s Pledge core ideals are based on their following views:

  • There is nothing in the Treaty of Waitangi justifying any racial preference under the law;
  • Legal equality between citizens is the foundation stone of democracy;
  • True democracy has proven to be the most enduring and successful system of government; and
  • Race-based privilege creates opportunities for corruption, resentment, and unrest.

We can only hope that a good number of New Zealanders get behind this group’s values. If this happens, it is more likely that a political party will work with the group in order to gain the support and vote of their supporters.

To learn more about Hobson’s Pledge, visit their website →

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Maori don’t want a Kermadec sanctuary

Kermadec Island

In this day and age of natural exploitation it comes as a breath of fresh air when the New Zealand government proposes that the Kermadec region become a sanctuary free of fishing and mining. But what is nature’s gain and a good precedent for other countries to follow, is loss for Maori it seems. Once again we see the selfishness of some Maori who are only interested in their own commercial gain even at the expense of the rest of New Zealand and in this case the whole world.

The Kermadec Islands and Maritime boundary contain some of the most pristine marine environments on planet Earth. There is a huge variety of fish species and other wildlife including: whales, dolphins, sharks, birds, turtles, and coral. There are also lifeforms that do not need sunlight and thrive on hydro-thermal vents. It is also possible that there are thousands of undiscovered species here. Located about 1000 km northeast of the North Island, the islands stretch for 250km which are really five emergent peaks of undersea volcanoes and some smaller islets. Within this proposed sanctuary is the Kermadec-Tonga Trench the second deepest trench on the planet at about 10,882 metres (35,702 ft) deep. The protected area will comprise a whopping 620,000 square kilometres.

kermadec-sanctuaryBut New Zealand’s environmental goodwill is opposed by Maori interests once again. Only this year did New Zealand citizens contribute money to buy back a private beach inside Abel Tasman National Park to make it part of the park for all to enjoy and to preserve. Local Maori opposed this too and rightfully lost. They seem only interested in commercial gain and at any price. Thankfully on the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary, the New Zealand government seems resolute and are not bending toward the will of these Maori opportunists. The Māori Fisheries Trust say it is a Treaty of Waitangi issue and they say the treaty gives iwi fishing rights in this area. Prime Minister John Key said:

“At the core of their belief, they believe they should be entitled to fish there even though they haven’t; they believe they should. We believe it should be a sanctuary where they shouldn’t fish.

The Government believes that Maori will still be able to catch fish here however, because the fish are mostly migratory and can be caught outside this boundary. This admission shows that the sanctuary would help fishing outside this zone because it gives them a chance to recover from over-fishing in other areas. There doesn’t seem to be any excuse or good reason to give Maori exclusive rights to this area.