David Round: Forest and Bird Drift Left

As you may know, I resigned as a member of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society a couple of years ago, dismayed that its enthusiasm for undefined but radical ‘Treaty principles’ was actually harming the conservation cause. F&B’s complete refusal to respond to any of my letters did not help.

Further evidence of F&B’s capture by the woke Left is offered by an article in Kiwiblog on the 22nd of this month. Under the heading ‘Questions media didn’t ask’, Kiwiblog describes a ‘newly-launched ‘campaign’ involving a ‘coalition’ of ‘Climate Club Aotearoa’, the ‘Social Change Collective’ and ‘Forest and Bird Youth’. The coalition’s aim is ‘to increase youth voter turnout by 15% ...especially among rural, Maori and Pasifika rangatahi’.

None of us object, of course, to the enrolment of eligible voters ~ although I would be very surprised if that object is mentioned in the Forest and Bird constitution! But there is a very obvious political slant to this campaign. It is one thing for an interest group to review the policies of political parties, and to say to voters that this or that policy is good or bad for the interests which that interest group promotes. That is entirely legitimate, and in fact desirable. But this is something else. It is an outright attempt to change the government. The ‘Social Change Collective’ is obviously in favour of social change, and no prizes will be awarded for guessing in what direction their desired social changes will take us. A change of government is obviously the first step, and only the first. The ‘co-convenor’ of this coalition is one Ethan Reille, a Labour Party candidate at the last election and also an organiser for the PSA, which is running its own ‘Change the Government’ campaign. He and the other organisers clearly believe that it is parties of the ‘left’ ~ the Maori Party, the Greens, even Labour at a pinch ~ who will benefit from this voter enrolment campaign. Our own commonsense observations lead us to the same conclusion. It will not be difficult to guess for whom young ‘Maori and Pasifika rangatahi’ will be voting.

So it boils down to this ~ that, under an extremely flimsy and unconvincing disguise, ‘Forest and Bird Youth’ is actively participating in a campaign to defeat the current coalition at the election and have it replaced by a more left-wing one. With everything that that might involve...

It is impossible to believe, by the way, that their involvement has not been approved and supported by F&B central office. The F&B high command keeps a very tight rein on the activities of all its branches.

Many conservationists have spent a long time emphasising, quite correctly, that the environment is an issue beyond politics; that regardless of our politics we all need fresh air, clean water and refreshment in Nature for the spirit, and that the laws of Nature operate inexorably regardless of our political opinions. But here is Forest and Bird announcing, in effect, that ‘leftwing’ parties are conservation’s natural allies, and parties of the ‘right’ its natural enemies. This is nonsense. But by announcing this, F&B is creating the very situation it professes to deplore. If the centre-right wins this election ~ a surely possible outcome! ~ then why would our new government have any sympathy for an organisation which has already renounced political neutrality and declared itself the government’s enemy? Why would any centre-right politician support any conservation initiative? F&B has made it clear that it believes that there are no votes for the centre-right in such support. Why, for that matter, would any conservation-minded and conservatively-inclined citizen choose to belong to an organisation dedicated to left-wing political activism? F&B’s stupidity does a grave disservice to the very cause which F&B once existed to promote.

For Forest and Bird to claim that it is politically neutral is an outright lie. Poor old Captain Sanderson, who founded the organisation over a century ago, will be turning in his grave to see what his organisation has become. Perhaps it is time for someone to speak to the Charities Commission about the political activism of this ‘charity’. Given the disgraceful political activism of our judges, though ~ who will strike down Family First’s charitable status, but maintain that of Greenpeace ~ that may be an uphill job.

David Round, a sixth generation South Islander and committed conservationist, is an author, a constitutional and Treaty expert, and a former law lecturer at the University of Canterbury.