Roger Childs: The Post, not impressive

I regard Hobson’s Pledge as a repulsive organization. Matthew Hooton, The Post, Friday October 2

Stuff

The Post’s editorial last Friday showed Stuff at its worse. The previous day it had printed a full page advertisement from Hobson’s Pledge which was basically a cartoon wondering why Labour leader Chris Hipkins doesn’t rule out the racist Maori Party as a possible partner in a Labour-led coalition should they be able to form a government after the election. Editor Hooton conceded that the advert did not breach the law or advertising standards so Stuff decided to run it.

As expected, many readers were very angry that it appeared in full page glory and this reaction provided the Editor with the opportunity he wanted to denigrate Don Brash’s lobby group which advocates for democracy and ethnic equality in New Zealand.

The Maori Party’s election campaign is about promoting the interests of one ethnic group – part-Maori. The reality of the Party’s influence is that it only has parliamentary representation because there are seven special seats in which only voters on the Maori role can cast a ballot.

Hobson’s Pledge

This organization, despite Hooton’s protestations, is not racist unlike his editorial.

Don Brash’s Hobson’s Pledge is based around the 1840 statement of our first governor, William Hobson, at Waitangi: He iwi tahi tātou", ("we are now one people”). Fundamentally it supported the concept of equality for all New Zealand citizens under one law.

Today it campaigns against -

• race-based policies 
• separate Māori seats in parliament
• co-governance models
• compelling working people to complete Maori courses.

A recent example of Hobson’s Pledge going into bat over the farce of course compulsion is the Real Estate agent Janet Dickson’s case.

Janet Dickson lost her case before the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal after refusing to complete Te Kākano, a compulsory course she believed conflicted with her Christian convictions. Janet was also clear that this training had nothing to do with selling property. The Tribunal has upheld the regulator's decision, placing Janet's licence and livelihood at risk. Hobson’s Pledge letter, 5 October 2026

In criticising the advertisement wondering why Hipkins doesn’t reject the idea of the Maori Party in government – Hooton is rejecting what many voters would regard as a fair question.

Before denigrating an organisation wedded to the principles democracy and equality, Matthew Hooton needs to look in the mirror.

The topics Stuff won’t cover

There is a raft of issues the publishing company won’t touch.

• What the Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) actually said.
• The farce of Freeman’s false and unauthorized “Treaty” which the Waitangi Tribunal likes.
• The English version of the Treaty – the Littlewood Treaty
• Whether the Waitangi Tribunal has kept to its original purpose, and is possibly past its used-by date.
• Examples of where the Tribunal has exceeded its legal functions.
• The undemocratic nature of the special Maori seats in parliament

These issues are just a few example of topics that Stuff puts in the too-hard basket. Is Hooton terrified of being called “racist”?

One thing the editorial did get right was a summary of the groups who oppose Brash’s’s organisation - .. Maori activists, woke Pakeha liberal elites and a censorious left-wing media.

Hobson’s Pledge - We are now one people - is a statement which was used in 1840 and in variations since such as by Prime Minister Ardern after the 2019 Christchurch massacre.

Roger Childs is a writer and freelance journalist. He is a former history and geography teacher, who wrote or co-authored 10 school textbooks.