Dr Don Brash: From the internet to medicines, nothing in New Zealand is safe from Treaty mania

The following is written in Don's capacity as Hobson's Pledge trustee.

You may not have heard of InternetNZ or know exactly what they do. I didn't until I read some alarming news about the organisation this week.

I was first alerted to the issue via an email from the New Zealand Free Speech Union which said:

The InternetNZ Council, which is the body that is responsible for administering the .nz domain name, has recently declared that InternetNZ is systemically racist and is proposing a new constitution that will make the organisation co-governed.

The proposed principles for the new constitution include the following:

InternetNZ must centre Te Tiriti o Waitangi in its work

InternetNZ will be co-governed with two co-chairs – one of whom must be Māori

Any member who does not agree with InternetNZ being a Te Tiriti centric organisation will be ineligible to be on the Board

At least one third of the Board must be Māori

Think about how prevalent the use of .nz domains are in New Zealand. Our own domain is hobsonspledge.nz!

I don't imagine those wanting to centre the Treaty in InternetNZ's work would view Hobson's Pledge as fitting the brief.

So where does that leave us?

Well, it potentially leaves us without a website domain. InternetNZ could decide that we don't meet their terms of service and pull the rug out from under us.

What can we do? The Free Speech Union has asked its supporters to join InternetNZ as members meaning that they can take part in voting on constitutional matters. We are suggesting the same to our supporters.

For just $21 you can join as a member of InternetNZ and join us in resisting this regressive racialisation of the internet in New Zealand.

The idea is that we will have enough votes to ensure race-based constitutional changes do not get made to the organisation.

From the internet to medicines, nothing in New Zealand is safe from Treaty mania.

A recent example is the New Zealand Pharmacy Council—and my goodness it is a cracking example. Chris Lynch drew attention to the story and the wildly unnecessary requirements for pharmacists in this country:

"All pharmacists to be “confident to perform waiata tautoko,” a Māori support song, and to advocate for “giving effect to te Tiriti at all levels,” “prioritising Māori voices and trusting Māori intelligence.”

Pharmacists must also be familiar with Māori health models such as Te Pae Mahutonga, which, according to the Health Ministry, refers to the Southern Cross constellation.

Additionally, pharmacists are expected to explain the impacts of pre- and post-Te Tiriti o Waitangi events on the health of New Zealanders.

The Pharmacy Council said on its website the introduction of these standards involved “a whāriki tāpui”—a formal woven mat—symbolising a deliberate integration of Western and Te Ao Māori ideologies. The Council described this as an effort to create a “stronger and more cohesive fabric” by merging two distinct worldviews.

Call me crazy, but when I go to pick up my prescriptions I would rather the pharmacist have some medical knowledge rather than the ability to belt out a te reo tune or recite the phases of the Māori lunar calendar.

New Zealanders should not have to submit to indoctrination in order to be allowed to do their jobs. We have already been the laughing stock of the global scientific community with icons such as Richard Dawkins telling the scientific world of the lunacy of the prioritisation of Mātauranga Māori in our institutions.

Who is going to take us seriously if we keep insisting on placing traditional Māori knowledge over scientific knowledge? Who is going to want to study in our universities? Who is going to want to invest in businesses knowing the nonsensical hoops they'll have to jump through to prove cultural competence?

We are kicking own goals. We are tying one hand behind our own backs!

We have to bring an end to industry bodies having the power to impose political and cultural beliefs on professionals, who submit because they have to in order to obtain a licence.

Get involved.

Dr Don Brash, Former Governor of the Reserve Bank and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2003 to 2006 and ACT in 2011. Don blogs at Bassett, Brash and Hide - where this article was sourced