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Monday, May 22, 2023

John Robinson: A call for freedom of speech

To the leaders of the National, ACT and New Zealand First Parties

In 1940, as World War Two was raging, W H Auden voiced his despair and powerlessness: “While those whom we love are dying or in terrible danger, the overwhelming desire to do something this minute to stop it makes it hard to sit still and think.” 

This echoes my feelings (and yours surely) with the destruction of equality, democracy, and freedom of speech here in New Zealand:

While our freedoms that we love are in terrible danger, the overwhelming desire to do something this minute to stop it makes it hard to sit still and think.

I despair; I can do nothing, my voice will not be heard.  But you can speak out and your voices will be heard.  Please do so, with clarity, so that the reality may be spoken of, and a true debate can commence.

“I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
(Attributed to French writer and philosopher Voltaire, 18th century)

 The policy of Co-governance has considerable importance to the way in which New Zealand is governed now and in the future.  It is vital that this idea be discussed widely.  A people’s democracy requires open debate, including informed criticism of existing and proposed government policies in public meetings.

This is not the situation now in New Zealand.  A well-informed opposing effort, ‘Stop Co-governance’, has been blocked as public venues have been refused by a number of Councils, suggesting a co-ordinated effort to prevent free speech to those who dare to raise important questions.  That situation applies across the country as proposals for meetings have been blocked, and letters and articles to local and national media have been refused. 

We ask for help to return freedom of speech to us, the citizens of New Zealand.

Then we can speak, and be heard, concerning the racism that states a belief in race (in legislation), divides us by race, and provides additional special powers to the chosen few.

We can then break free from the stranglehold of a document, the Treaty of Waitangi, that has been stripped of its original meaning so that ‘we are one people’ has become ‘we are two people, two races, separate’, now with co-governance and soon with two separate political systems and parliaments (as proposed in the He Puapua report and by the Maori Party).  Those truths cannot now be voiced, by current government fiat.

Only then can we come together as a people to define the sort of society and country that we want, now and for the future, placing equality at the forefront, free of the stranglehold of a distorted past that has been made a weapon for political and economic gain by a privileged few.

The freedom of speech, freedom to meet and to discuss the policy of the country is not just under attack, it is refused.  Will you speak out, loudly and clearly? 

I ask that you use all the powers of your position to assure that free speech is permitted, and that threats to free speech are not allowed to carry the day, as at present – starting with a clear and incontrovertible public statement.  Simply call for equality and freedom of speech.

Dr John RobinsonPhD (MIT, applied mathematics) is a research scientist, who has investigated a variety of topics, including the social statistics of Maori.  His recognition of fundamental flaws in the interpretation of nineteenth century Maori demographics led him to consider the history of those times in several books including: Our choice for the future: equality or tribal rule (2023, https://www.nzcpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/John-Robinson.pdf); Regaining a nation: equality and democracy (2022, Tross Publishing); He Puapua: Blueprint for breaking up New Zealand (2021, Tross Publishing); The kingite rebellion (2016, Tross Publishing).

6 comments:

EP said...

And I have just turned off Michael Laws, who was giving Julian Batchelor a hard time on The Platform. Julian - and certainly you John - have worked tirelessly to bring this to the attention of the NZ public. Thank you. Some of us are listening, hopefully many, and will help to turn the tide come October.

Anonymous said...

Monthly rallies around the country? Outside broadcasting and media offices?
I'm a protest waiting to happen but I'm not going by myself.
I think this site is brilliant with hopefully a wide reach into various demographics. It would be interesting to know the readership numbers.
For myself I have given up sharing articles as people are really not interested as they think it's just politics. Or worse two of my boys call me right wing and ask me to stop reading it! The other one is agreeable.
I personally think we need to turn this ship around asap but I'm not sure how it will play out long term.
MC

Anna Mouse said...

There can be no democracy where there exists co-governance or where one citizen is promoted to be more than his fellow citizen.

The Legacy media have been purchased so they now no longer speak freely. Nor, it seems do they choose to anyway as they list leftwise in their sea of self importance.

It remains to the reasoned thinker to speak clarity to truth and hold those who would speak lies to account.

Why any government elected by the people in a (and by a) liberal democracy would think that destroying that democracy will lead to utopia is an odd and dangerous hill to stand upon.

Words cannot be violence as the old nursery rhyme tells us but real violence does occur when citizens rights are demonstrably revoked by the people they elected.

History is filled to the brim of wannabe despots and their zealots slipping on their own arrogance and finding that like Ceaușescu did, the end actually didnt justify the means.......

Robert Arthur said...

Re EPs observation above, I have referret to following the Sean Plunket contribution. Down ther in the civilised very colonist influenced south, Laws seems to lost touch with modern reality.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I agree EP. I usually have time for Michael Laws, but that interview was appalling. I think both were having a bad day and were at cross purposes.

But John, do keep up the good work - you are truly a voice of reason. Those that are intellectually compromised will eventually wake up. So do keep espousing clarity of sensible thought.

Anonymous said...

Politics and governance has always been for the select few.. even women weren’t allowed to vote. The systems of law and other bureaucracies set up by the ‘rulers’ is now currupted in NZ. A Maori justice system might be much fairer and closer to obtaining the truth.

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