[Walkingfeather]

hey Shaggy what is the political climate down there? Is helen and her gang on the ropes?

[shaggy eel]

,,, how's things mate? Long time no hear. Well, things have turned around quite well down here since Don Brash, leader of the NATIONAL Party gave a speech to Orewa's Rotary Club one night in January, I think it was. The timing was total strategy. Kiwis take their holidays and the kids return to school late January or early February. If he had said this before Christmas, it wouldn't have had the same impact with everyone busy with Christmas and holiday arrangements. New Zealand had got back into it's New Year routine and he grabbed the headlines with "Maori aren't special". The Treaty of Waitangi was drafted up with good intent but it's been hijacked and is serving rich lawyers and government agency leeches who have set up a grievance industry with no run out date on it.

A significant block of voters, let's say 42 - 45%, think it's out of control, with me counted in that group.

Brash resigned his job as governor of New Zealand's Reserve Bank to enter Parliament. He's a no nonsense economist who's hit a chord and he's on his way to claiming the commonsense vote next election.

[shaggy eel]

A reply to critics of my Orewa speech

The Treaty issues that I raised earlier in the year had for too long been a subject we were not allowed to express a view about. I have challenged that, and as a community we have started a long overdue review of where we have got to, and where we are headed.

Last week I responded to my critics, and this speech can be read at the National Party website, www.national.org.nz or on my own website www.donbrash.com. I will come back to this issue in future newsletters and provide further examples of how the Treaty of Waitangi “industry” is being used to divide New Zealanders.

Attempted murder in the cathedral

Last Thursday evening, Helen Clark gave an aggressively political speech attacking the National Government of the 1990s and me personally. Nothing too surprising about that – I think she is feeling some real pressure as the public becomes increasingly aware of the implications of some of her Government’s policies.

But what I and many others found extraordinary is that she chose Christchurch Cathedral to deliver such a highly political speech.

I am not one who objects to bishops commenting on matters of important social interest (somebody with my own background could hardly object!), even though I disagree totally with their recent statement about how the Treaty of Waitangi should be understood.

But the bishops at least couched their statement in politically neutral language, even though it was widely understood as an attack on the National Party and on my Orewa speech.

Helen Clark, by contrast, delivered an overtly political speech and urged her audience (I’m not sure it could be called a ‘congregation’) to vote for her party at the next election. I believe that that was grossly inappropriate in a church.

Don Brash
March 10 2004