Wheeler’s Corner
“Connecting Citizens Who Care“. Every Monday
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04 28th January 2018
1. Don Brash carried out a flying visit the Palmerston
North and Fielding on Wednesday spending Hobson’s Pledges cash via a half page
ad in the Manawatu Standard…that’s a few thousand bucks folks…in an effort to
boost his disciple Don Esslemont in his strange desire to oppose a Maori Ward
for Palmerston North.
Well in an effort to
present an unbiased view I’m simply going to inform you of what the Manawatu
Standard wrote. Part A was written by Richard Mays:
 |
| Donald [Brash] number 1 |
“Don Brash, controversial
spokesman for lobby group Hobson's Pledge, is to visit Manawatū on Wednesday to
rally support for petitions that seek to overturn local council decisions on
Māori wards.
Both the Palmerston North
City Council and Manawatū District Council voted last year in favour of Māori
wards.
Hobson's Pledge is a lobby
group dedicated to removing what it sees as legislative favoritism for Māori.
Unattributed pamphlets
inviting Manawatū District and city residents to sign a petition demanding a
binding poll on Māori wards had been circulated to voters through letterboxes
and rural mail boxes.
Brash said Hobson's Pledge
was financing the petition.
"A number of locals are
unhappy about what has happened and we are keen to support them call for a poll
on the issue," he said.
In Palmerston North, the
council voted in favour of a Māori ward, even though two thirds of the
submissions were against it.
In Fielding, consultation on
establishing a ward took place between the council and local marae, six of them
voting in favour, four against and two abstaining. In November, six councillors
voted for wards, with four against.
Brash said he would be
spending the morning in Feilding and the afternoon in Palmerston North. It
was up to local petition organizers, Manawatū District Councillor Andrew
Quarrie, who voted against the ward proposal, and Don Esslemont, in Palmerston
North, how they made use of him.
However, the yellow
petitions pamphlets, separately worded for both local authority regions, didn't
carry any acknowledgement of Hobson's Pledge.
"I don't know why [the
petitions] don't refer to us. We weren't trying to hide the fact that we were
funding it," Brash said.
"We didn't want the
issue clouded by someone from outside. It has got to be something local
ratepayers express their views on."
When asked why the local
petitions were not attributed to Hobson's Pledge, Esslemont said "it
never crossed my mind".
"We never asked [ourselves] the question whether
we should put anything on it."
 |
| Donald number 2 [Esslemont] |
As well as the anonymity,
there was some confusion about the delivery of the petition pamphlets. Some
city suburbs missed out, while some Fielding residents reported that Palmerston
North pamphlets ended up in their letterboxes.
Esslemont said he had only
been made aware of the problem on Thursday and was talking about it with
the distributors.
Next Wednesday, he said
Brash would spend time around Fielding's Manchester Square and Palmerston
North's The Square, talking with people about signing the poll petitions, which
have to be submitted before February 21. A poll required the signatures
of 2727 registered city electors and 1004 registered district council
voters.
If a poll on the issue was necessary in
Palmerston North, it could cost between $100,000 and $125,000.
In the Manawatū District,
council spokesman Paul Stein said the poll would cost between $80,000 and
$100,000
Part B.
From: Jimmy Ellingham a Manawatū
Standard news director.
Māori ward opponents 'didn't think' about telling us
who they are
Don Brash isn't sure
why Hobson's Pledge didn't put its name to pamphlets about its views on Māori
wards.
OPINION:
Everyone has the right to express their views.
It's one of the wonderful things about living in a
democracy and means people can broadcast all sorts of opinions, no matter
how stuffy.
So it was when a pamphlet headlined "We want a
vote on Māori wards" turned up in Palmerston North and Manawatū
letterboxes.
Such wards are proving a divisive issue in local-body
politics and both the Palmerston North City and Manawatū District councils have
voted in favour of their establishment.
Opposition has been loud and clear. Two-thirds of
pubic submissions in the city were against the move,[ but only two turned up to speak to the
issue] while the Manawatū council
vote passed by six to four.[and
the PNCC council voted 11 to 4 in support of Maori Wards]
According to the pamphlet, if 2727 people sign an
online petition in Palmerston North, the council must hold a binding poll on
the issue.
The pamphlet's authors were firm: "We believe
that Māori wards are not necessary for council decisions... all of which are
for the benefit of everyone, irrespective of ethnicity.
"The added cost
of red tape of a Māori ward is the last thing ratepayers need."
Leaving aside the dubious claims that such a ward
would come with extra costs, there was a surprising omission.
Nowhere on the
pamphlet, not once, did the authors reveal themselves. Contact details merely point to a Fielding PO Box
and anonymous email address.
It turns out lobby group
Hobson's Pledge is behind them, but, like an anonymous online comment, it's
difficult to give its opinions any weight if it's not upfront about them.
It's also tempting to conclude the group was too gutless to put its name to its views, especially given
the, for some, toxic association with former National and ACT leader Don Brash,
who late last year spoke out against Radio NZ announcers using Māori language
on air.
Palmerston North
petition organiser Don Esslemont said of leaving the Hobson's Pledge name off
the pamphlet: "It never crossed my mind": Seriously? Did it not occur
to Esslemont that we might want to know who is telling us to oppose Māori
wards, so we can develop an informed view on what is said?
Brash, who the group is wheeling out in Manawatū this
week, wasn't sure why the pamphlets didn't refer to Hobson's Pledge.
The war of the wards is a legitimate local-government
issue, but in the battle of open debate, the most vocal forgot their basic
introductions.
Jimmy Ellingham is a Manawatū Standard news director.
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| Bull-Shit Ad used by Hobson/s pledge caption |
With all this press
coverage as well a half page ad in the paper, you think that the supporters
would pour out in their hundred, all those who opposed Maori Wards but failed
to turn up to speak to their submission to the council, only two actually spoke
against Maori Wards.
The Manawatu Standard was kind in its remarks on the massive turn out
of anti-Maori Ward rate payers…there was around ten supporters and ten
opposition members of the public who turned up to greet their great white
leader Donald Brash ex-Nats leader and ex Act Party leader and co-leader of
Hobson’s Pledge, a far North racist structure best known for its false advertising as
demonstrated in this ad: Every last one of the happy youth live outside of New
Zealand…not one belongs to Hobson’s Pledge…or even knows who Hobson was!
One last point: I received this information on Friday:
Hi Peter
Donald Esslemont went into the Plaza after the main event in the Square at
about 1.30pm seeking signatures for his petition. When I saw him approaching
other diners; I challenged him about lack of authority to do so, his response
was "It's a public place". I phoned the Plaza management who
confirmed it is not a public place
and they do not permit polling, petitions etc. They said they would
remind all their retail outlets and look out for Hobson's Pledge supporters. Email ends.
It would appear that both Donald's failed to follow the rules…is this a
sign of their general lack of intelligence? Remember these are the elderly old white
males who preach ‘One law for all, but it would seem not for them...
Peter J Wheeler
