OPINION:
Yesterday was a triumphant moment in Parliament House.
The “divisive”, “disingenous”, “unfair”, “discriminatory” and “dishonest” Treaty Principles Bill, advanced by the right wing ACT Party, failed.
Spectacularly.
11 MP votes for (ACT).
112 MP votes against (All Other Parties).
As the wonderful Te Pāti Māori MP, Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke said:
We are not divided, but united.
Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson told the house,
The People have spoken.
Never, she noted, had there been so much power and overwhelming agreement through a Select Committee process.
The historic ~ 300,000 Kiwis who submitted were overwhelmingly against David Seymour’s “racist”, “disingenuous” Bill.
90% against.
8% for - the same percentage that the libertarian backed ACT Party enjoys electorally.
2% unsure.
ACT, Hobsons Pledge, and their many affiliate groups around the country had spent significant time, money, energy and co-ordination to gain control of the narrative
Affiliate channels such as The Platform, funded by Wayne Wright Junior and Centrist, associated with James Grenon, also helped.
But as in all fairytales, even as the victors breathe a sigh of relief, evil stirs.
A few days ago, Mike Hosking from NZME Newstalk ZB, issued a diatribe, which, when one wades through the misinformation and shade, culminated in one clear conclusion:
Hoskings joins Sean Plunkett, Chris Trotter, David Seymour and their ilk to come out in full to push for a national referendum.
It is hard not to see the parallels with the Brexit movement.
There, operatives steadily pushed the country to a contrived referendum, claiming that many of the ills and stresses of the British were related to being part of the EU.
They contrived this problem1, in order to further their real agenda.
As all alt-right campaigns go, the campaign was publicly litigated as benefitting the people of a country.
During Brexit, the British were told that by voting leave, Britain would become stronger, more prosperous, there would be less crime, their farmers would gain immeasurable trade benefits, and the NHS (Health Service) would be better funded.
None of those eventuated. Many of those were marked as misleading before the referendum.
But it didn’t stop them - or their supporters.
Right wing media from Rupert Murdoch’s Sun to Daily Mail, pushed it with fervour and passion.
And passionate did many become:
Brexit now costs British businesses £37 billion a year - that’s $83 billion NZD.
Estimates from the Government show a loss of 4% of GDP per annum over the long term.
That translates into a £32 billion cost per annum to the UK taxpayer.2 (NZD $72 bn a year)
Without deep diving into it, it was a colossal failure. Britian not only suffers economically but lost a lot of its soft power. Poverty increased significantly, its health is both broken and expensive, under Tory rule.
The majority regret the choice.
No matter.
The ones who pulled the strings got what they wanted.
Here, in NZ, the battle is just getting started..
Christopher Luxon Wasn’t Even There
The Prime Minister, who is responsible for the Treaty Principles Bill going ahead despite being warned it would irrevocably harm the country, chose to stay away from the final vote.
His excuse:
He wanted to call world leaders and wanted to be in Auckland to make the phone calls.
But, he was in Wellington yesterday morning, just before the vote, and again used the Auckland excuse:
“I’m due to go back to Auckland and then I’ve got a series of engagements and meetings.”
Yes, the phone calls using a magical phone that only works from Auckland.
Hipkins re-arranged his schedule to make it.
Luxon did make himself readily available to Hosking again this week saying he didn’t regret his decision to advance the Treaty Principles Bill:
We found the compromise…And now we're at a place where it's going to come to an end. No [regrets].
Of course.
David Seymour’s KPIs
Last year, in February, I wrote about why David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill mission is a must-do in his private agenda.
I wrote at the time:
Only by eliminating the current interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, can the fossil fuel, corporate and foreign wealth interests assure a cleared and easier legal road ahead.
I stand by that.
The question is what is next.
What’s Next For The Right?
Based on my observations, the right use a strategy that’s fairly predictable.
This is one way they may want to play the next steps:
Drum up support in their affiliate channels e.g. Newstalk ZB, online forums, Facebook groups - stoking outrage about money, and unfairness, and ‘selective’ democracy
They drop ideology for their supporters to spread e.g. “It’s costing too much.” “We can’t take the uncertainty” “The Select Committee was pick and choose democracy” “The elites have taken over” etc.
They encourage their users to pressure MPs
David Seymour takes the other flank to keep it all in the public eye and continue to try to gain voters for ACT
Hobsons Pledge and/or its affiliates try to move a private referendum
They push the country to a referendum choice, and each party will use this as a differentiator for the 2026 election. ACT will definitely use this i.e they will claim, dishonestly, that if Kiwis “want equality” they should vote Seymour (spoiler: It’s dishonest)
Separately, National will subtly claim that if Kiwis want equality i.e. continue their work in abolishing and weakening Maori rights through legislation and appointments, they should vote National. NZ First will assess what is most politically favourable, and its donors’ preferences, at the time before declaring its position.
And so it goes.
Primed For Action
RNZ reports that many Kiwis now understand more what is at stake, and that the journey to protect Te Tiriti is just starting.
Tania Waikato:
"If anything this is really just beginning. We've got the Regulatory Standards Bill that's going to be introduced at some point before June. That particular bill will do what the Treaty Principle's Bill was aiming to do, but in a different and just more sneaky way.
"So for me, that's definitely the next fight that we all gotta get up for again."
Grateful.
Cost
We can talk about the $6 million taxpayer bill that’s officially on the record for ACT’s failed Treaty Principles Bill - a cost, as Sarah Aiono wrote, could have funded 90 full time teachers, enabled 30,000 free GP visits, or built 20 state homes.
But the truth is that cost is much higher.
The time and effort of over 300,000 submitters, and those who presented at the Select Committee including Andrew Little, Chris Finlayson, Marily Waring, Jane Kelsey, Ganesh Ahirao, Vincent O’Malley, Jenny Shipley, hospitals, churches, lawyers, acadamics, community groups, social service organisations, Iwi, hapu, youth organisations, state sector, individuals etc.
The endless energy, attention and time it’s taken off of our failing healthcare system as National seeks to undermine public health for privatisation, our schools, our increasing organised crime issue, the 96% increase in meth use over the last year, surge in cocaine, the mental health crisis, surging wait times, record unemployment and dropping productivity, more NZ kids living in hardship, shamefu; child poverty record and over 1/2 million Kiwis now relying on foodbanks.
All for the agenda of those who pull the strings of a puppet like David Seymour and whose interests collide with figures like Mike Hosking and Sean Plunkett.
All contrived for their benefit over ours - the 99.9%.
EXTRAS
In The Tent
Trump’s reversals on tariffs yesterday allowed those in the know to make millions.
He’s now made further tariff changes, as investors shed USD, markets continue its bloodbath and the Fed calls it all a “self inflicted wound”. Trump’s upped China’s tariffs to 145% now.
But at least some got more rich -
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Lighter Moments - First Meerkat Litter in a Decade @ Auckland Zoo
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