The following is written by Don Brash in his capacity as Hobson's Pledge Trustee.
As I shared with you previously, the Real Estate Authority (REA) said they were going to cancel real estate agent Janet Dickson's licence for five years because she would not take a compulsory Māori culture course.
Then, the real estate company she worked for decided to terminate her contract. We couldn’t share this with you at the time because it was important for Janet’s lawyers to try to save her ability to earn a living. Thankfully, they were successful and she has been offered her role back.
Her legal team have also ensured that Janet will remain licensed until the outcome of the High Court proceedings. The hearing will be in June so she can keep working at least until the decision.
Hobson’s Pledge supporters got in behind Janet and ensured that she wasn’t forced to cave in the face of the REA’s decision to go down the track of expensive litigation. Janet could not be more grateful to her lawyers, and to those who made it possible.
The REA isn’t making things easy for Janet though. They’ve applied for what is called "security for costs". This says they think that Janet won’t be able to pay up if she loses.
They claim that only Janet benefits from winning the case, dismissing the great public interest in the case, including public support from the Deputy Prime Minister. They are also ignoring the many other real estate agents in the same boat. We’ve heard from a number of them.
We cannot understand how the REA can think that it is serving its proper purposes, or helping real estate customers and agents, in using its powers and funds to suppress dissent, instead of welcoming a chance to have the court decide who is right on the proper scope of its powers.
The next phase for the legal team is preparing for her judicial review. Meanwhile, Hobson’s Pledge is looking to find out if other Kiwis are experiencing similarly outrageous situations with their employers and licensing bodies. We are hearing that this goes far beyond the real estate field and that professions of all kinds are abusing their powers to force licencees into brain-washing with ideological cultural training.
We’ve been told that lawyers, teachers, doctors, nurses, and public service workers are all under this kind of pressure.
Send me a message if you have an experience that you would be willing to share with us. We can redact names and identifying details if need be.
As you can see, without the backing of our supporters Janet would not have had the excellent legal representation. It has proven its value already.
UPDATE
Really quick note - Janet has had another victory!
The Real Estate Authority's application for an order that Janet Dickson put up $15,000 in security to pay the REA’s costs if they win has been DENIED by Justice Grau in the High Court.
The REA tried to argue that Janet Dickson doesn't have the means to pay costs should the case go against her and suggested that Hobson’s Pledge’s fundraising efforts indicated this.
Thankfully, the judge disagreed.
The REA have badly underestimated the frustrations of not only their own licensees, but also the strength of feeling on the matter in wider New Zealand. We saw in the response to our emails just how fed up supporters like you are with the forced indoctrination going on in workplaces.
On a personal note, I was really pleased to see that Hobson's Pledge is making a difference and has ensured that Janet is able to fight off these spurious litigious attempts to outspend her by an REA that has clearly lost its way.
This judgement demonstrates just how much merit there is in pursuing this judicial review. It is in the public interest and engages issues of rights protected under the Bill of Rights.
Of huge interest to us was the revelation in the judgement that there are 92 other real estate agents objecting to the imposition of the Te Kakano cultural training course!
Incredibly, the REA tried to persuade the judge that this was not relevant because it is only “a small number”.
Janet is not alone as the REA would like her to think. This information should give confidence to any other real estate agents who would like to speak out but have been suppressed by the threat of job and licence loss. Please don't hesitate to get in touch if that is you.
New Zealanders should be able to go to work without having highly politicised cultural ideas forced on them. No one should fear losing their livelihood because they don't agree with their employer's Treaty politics.
The fight goes on!
It makes me proud to see how Hobson’s Pledge can contribute to not only influencing policy and legislation, but also can actively protect democratic freedoms for a Kiwi who is standing up against the racialised politics we fight to resist.