The University of Auckland thought they could steamroll our students, force-feed them a politically correct, ideologically driven curriculum, and charge them over a thousand dollars for the privilege. They thought they could make the Waipapa Taumata Rau course compulsory, ram it into every first-year student’s timetable, and there would be no pushback. They were wrong and now they have been forced to retreat. One semester. That is all it took. One semester of outrage, of public debate, of students and families refusing to be told what they must learn, and the university has blinked.

Let us be clear about what just happened. This is a massive victory for common sense, for freedom, for anyone who believes that education should be a choice, not a political weapon. The Vice-Chancellor, Dawn Freshwater, has now recommended that the course be made optional. After months of insisting it was essential, after trying to force thousands of students to pay for it, after ignoring complaints and criticism, they have backed down. They have caved. They have admitted, implicitly, that the course was overreach, that it was expensive, unnecessary, and politically motivated.

International students, engineering students, business students, science students, all of them were being forced to sit through this ideological lecture disguised as foundational learning. And let us not mince words. It was ideological. The content was political. The framing was political. It was never about broadening minds or giving students useful tools for their futures. It was about pushing a worldview, about telling students they must consume this political narrative. That is unacceptable.

Hobson’s Pledge called this out from day one. We warned that mandatory race-based and ideologically loaded courses were a slippery slope. We warned that students should not have to pay for political indoctrination. We warned that this was not education. This was political coercion. And now, finally, one semester in, the university has admitted it. They are backing down. They are giving students a choice. That is a massive, massive win.

But make no mistake. This is not just about one course. This is a test case. This is a warning to every university, every institution, every bureaucrat who thinks they can force ideology into classrooms. If you push too far, if you force your politics on people, if you try to turn education into propaganda, we will push back. And we will win.

Celebrate this win. Share it. Remind everyone that the machinery of race-based or ideology-driven mandates can be broken, can be challenged, and can be defeated. The University of Auckland thought they could get away with it. They miscalculated. Hobson’s Pledge, along with the public, has forced them to retreat.

We will be watching closely as the University Council finalises its decision. We will make sure that “optional” remains optional, and that ideological overreach never gets a free pass. This is a victory, but the war for common-sense education is not over. The push for forced, politically charged, race-based curricula is still out there. We will resist. We will speak. We will make sure students and families know exactly what is happening. And we will win again.

The same principle applies to Māori wards. There are only two weeks left to make your voice heard. If you haven’t yet, check what your council is doing and vote NO to Māori wards. Don’t let politicians divide us to represent us. Help spread the word by ordering a banner or some stickers to put up in your neighbourhood, on fences, cars, or anywhere people will see the message loud and clear.

And if you’ve already put up stickers or banners, send us a picture so we can share it and show how much momentum we have. Every vote counts, every voice matters, and together we can make sure councils don’t impose race-based representation.

Stand proud. Share this. Amplify this. This is proof that when you resist, when you refuse to be dictated to, when you fight for freedom of choice, victory is possible. The lesson is clear. Never back down.

He iwi tahi tātou / we are one people, 

Elliot Ikilei 

Trustee

Hobson’s Pledge
https://www.hobsonspledge.nz/