DON BRASH: The New Zealand Army's dark secret
- Don Brash
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
The following is written in Don's capacity as Hobson's Pledge trustee
When we launched our Professionals, not Politicians campaign, we knew ideological capture had taken deep root in professions across New Zealand. But a chilling new example has just come to light—and it proves exactly why we must draw a line in the sand right now.
Our public servants are also being targeted and are no longer just being asked to implement political agendas. They are now being legally compelled to adopt spiritual and religious beliefs.
And nowhere is this more terrifying than in the New Zealand Army.
Human rights advocate Alex Penk recently uncovered that the Army issued General Orders forcing a specific "cosmological framework" onto our troops. The orders dictate that our soldiers must understand and align themselves with traditional Māori deities like Tūmatauenga (the god of war) and Rongo (the god of peace).
To climb the ranks, operational leaders are expected to recite karakia (prayers) from memory, and strategic leaders must actively "champion" this worldview.
When the advocacy group Ethos Alliance used the Official Information Act to ask the Army what consideration they gave to freedom of conscience, religion, and belief before issuing these orders, the official response was staggering: “The information does not exist.”
They didn't even think about it. At no point did anyone in the Army hierarchy consider one of our most basic freedoms.
Worse still, these orders aren’t optional. They are backed by Section 39(b) of the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971. In theory, a soldier who refuses to comply with these 'spiritual' orders on the grounds of a conflict with their own personal faith or conscience faces a charge of disobedience—an offence punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.
Prominent King’s Counsel and friend of Hobson's Pledge, Gary Judd, has rightfully sounded the alarm on this, pointing out that under the Bill of Rights Act, the crown has a strict negative duty not to interfere with freedom of conscience. It must remain completely neutral.
The state has absolutely no business putting a soldier in a position where they must choose between betraying their own conscience or risking a prison sentence.
Our soldiers swear an oath to serve King and Country. They do not sign up to have a state-mandated religion forced upon them as a condition of their employment or promotion.
This is exactly why our Professionals, not Politicians campaign is so vital.
When a government department or the military stops focusing on its core professional duty and starts acting as an agent of spiritual conversion or cultural compliance, democracy is in danger. If the crown can force religious frameworks onto the Army under threat of discipline, they can do it to our teachers, our nurses, and our police officers. As we know, it is already happening to real estate agents, lawyers, and others.
I have given you this shocking example, but I need your help to turn this into a nationwide demand for institutional neutrality.
The NZ Defence Force has temporarily paused these specific orders for "further consideration" because they know they’ve crossed a line. We need to turn up the pressure so they scratch them permanently, and to ensure no other government department tries a stunt like this again.
Further reading - Māori Strategic Framework for the New Zealand Defence Force