Category: Democracy

Using Letters of Expectation Labour’s Ministers were able to put He Puapua into effect, away from the spotlight of public scrutiny, transforming institutions into agents of radical indoctrination. Under their directives virtually every government organisation was required to prioritise the Treaty and Maori interests. Such requirements are now endemic.

A cynic, or perhaps a realist, would conclude that the cultural agenda that’s now confronting New Zealand is being driven by money not mana. It’s time for the cancer of cultural appeasement to be removed – it’s been tolerated for far too long.

Before MACA became law, Finlayson reassured critics that only around 2000km of New Zealand’s 20,000km coastline — or roughly 10 per cent — would end up being under the control of iwi and hapu via customary title. That promise looks to be hollow.

For a Government committed to equal rights that has pledged not to advance policies “that ascribe different rights and responsibilities to New Zealanders on the basis of race”, including iwi appointees on Fast-track expert panels represents a gross betrayal.

Censorship comes in many forms, some subtle and some not so but the overall effect is the same, some person, or group does not want you to exercise your freedom of choice and speech on a given topic.

New Zealand is suffering from ‘activist capture’. As a nation, we’ve allowed this to happen because some at the top of the political pyramid have themselves been activists, while others have lacked the backbone and focus to say "enough is enough".

New Zealand’s Supreme Court – the highest court in our land - has been captured by activist judges. What is heartening, is the emergence of a wide range of eminent legal voices all openly criticising the Court and calling for this problem to be addressed..

It is crucial to the administration of justice that all judges approach the cases before them with open minds and setting aside all pre-conceived views and beliefs. Once that corner stone is eroded then our court system rapidly descends to one of patronage, and who you know.

Democracy is undoubtedly enhanced by a strong media landscape. But if New Zealand is to return to having that, there needs to be a reset. The media needs to commit to their own principles to “be bound at all times by accuracy, fairness and balance." A balanced approach to climate change may well have prevented the damaging policies that are now in place.

If the Marine and Coastal Area Act is not fixed Maori will become the legal owners of virtually of the entire coastline and Territorial Sea of New Zealand - including vast reserves of the invaluable minerals such as rare earths in the seabed.