M¯aori ward myths
The decision by the Palmerston North City and Manawatu¯ District councils to give the go-ahead to Ma¯ ori wards has not gone unchallenged.
On one side, councillors defending their decision say the move will give Ma¯ ori a greater voice. Opponents say race-based representation is undemocratic and the issue should be put to a poll for voters to decide.
Hobson’s Pledge, the lobby group associated with former politician Don Brash, is staunchly against what it sees as a separatist move. The group has organised petitions in both districts to force a referendum.
It’s already succeeded in Manawatu¯ and organisers in Palmerston North are confident of success. Petition supporters have taken to the streets, going door to door. However, the information they’re giving the public seems questionable, whether by design or ignorance. The man who came to my door seeking signatures didn’t mention Hobson’s Pledge.
We’ve criticised this secrecy before, when the group issued a pamphlet promoting its petitions, without saying who was behind them. Its Palmerston North organiser Don Esslemont explained he simply hadn’t thought about making such a disclosure – an extraordinary omission for one saying he wants to stir debate.
How can we have informed discussion when we don’t have all the facts, including who is promoting which point of view? This week, Esslemont managed not to once mention Hobson’s Pledge in an opinion piece of more than 600 words.
Further, the man seeking my signature also talked about ‘‘backroom deals’’ from councillors, who made their decision without consultation. Brash made the same incorrect assertions. It’s true all ratepayers weren’t asked in Manawatu¯ , but in Palmerston North there was consultation – although councillors ignored the weight of opposition from the public.
Lastly, I was told ‘‘we’’, the petition organisers, were not for or against Ma¯ ori wards – the petition was simply about letting ratepayers have a say. That’s correct in one respect – the petition simply calls for a vote. But to argue Hobson’s Pledge, a group opposed to anything seen as special privilege for Ma¯ ori, is not against the wards, is stretching the truth.
For an organisation claiming to have an interest in democracy, Hobson’s Pledge is forgetting one of its vital components: transparency.