Dr Michael Bassett: Why are the loud mouths frightened about the principles of the treaty?

It’s amazing to see the energy being invested in attacks on David Seymour and ACT over the proposed bill, that no one has yet seen, on the Principles of the Treaty. Four hundred religious leaders, Radio NZ, TV, the New Zealand Herald’s Julia Gabel, the newly unhinged Matthew Hooton, the Labour Party that should know better, the seriously weird Greens, and the unintelligible Maori Party are all piling on to Seymour with arguments that vary between the specious and the absurd. It’s for a reason.