Brash (sort of) endorses Peters – who would have thought it

The Herald reports:

Former National and Act Party leader Don Brash says Winston Peters is the best chance of “ending National’s race-based policies”.

Brash is a spokesman for a lobby group, Hobson’s Pledge Trust, that wants to end what it calls “Maori separatism” by abolishing the Maori seats and remove all references in law and policy to Treaty “partnership” and “principles”.

With just weeks until the election he has written an article for Elocal magazine, titled, “Use your vote to end National’s race-based policies”. …

On New Zealand First, Brash tells readers it is the party that has consistently called for a “colour-blind” state, and Peters this year announced policy to hold a binding referendum on whether the Maori seats should continue.

He questions whether Peters can be trusted, given he didn’t use his bargaining power to move New Zealand to a “colour-blind society” in 1996 or 2005.

“Nobody knows for certain how Mr Peters will use his bargaining power … [but] on balance, I think NZ First is the best chance we’ve got of moving New Zealand to a society where ancestry is absolutely irrelevant to our legal rights,” Brash wrote.

So Don is saying that Winston has never ever acted on his rhetoric before but he thinks this time he might. Wow. Sort of desperate.

He told the Herald that comment did not amount to a specific endorsement.

“We mention the fact that both Act and New Zealand First are saying things that are consistent with what Hobson’s Pledge has been arguing for.”

Brash said he was aware that under the Electoral Act his group could not specifically tell New Zealanders to vote for a party or candidate, without their approval.

Actually they can, they just can’t spend money on advertisements saying it.