Fact-check of Sky News Australia segment warning of ‘apartheid’ in New Zealand – Newshub

In the segment, Bolt introduces Dr Muriel Newman, who he describes as a former business representative, a former politician and now head of the think tank the New Zealand Centre for Political Research.

She was an ACT MP from 1996 until 2005.

"The Mori population of New Zealand is about 16 percent and that includes people who also have European ancestry," said Bolt.

"But Ardern's Cabinet commissioned a report which sets out a 20-year plan to have New Zealand essentially ruled 50-50, on race grounds, Mori and non-Mori," Bolt adds.

"Ardern has already created a new Mori Health Authority, the first step to a divided health system - divided by race," says Bolt.

"Can you tell us about this plan? Because the amazing thing to me is there's been so little debate in New Zealand about what seems to me a very clear plan for apartheid in your country," Bolt asks.

"Well, you're right Andrew It was introduced under the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Peoples, so it was a plan to implement that into the national agenda, if you like," Newman replies.

"What came out of it was in fact He Puapua, which is a plan for tribal control by 2040, which is the 200-year anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

"That report was produced in 2019. But the Government kept it secret, even from their coalition partner New Zealand First, for the whole of 2020," Newman says.

"Then the election came along and they kept it secret, and now that they have total power, total control, they are implementing it at speed, and it is extremely frightening because most Kiwis have no idea what's going on."

"They see changes every day and wonder what on earth is driving it and unfortunately we're in a situation where the Government has spent $55 million on a public interest broadcasting fund which is something that the media can apply for to get grants and one of the conditions of doing that is they have to, if you like, speak out in favour of this Treaty partnership agenda," Newman says.

"You've raised so many things here that really disturb me," Bolt says.

"You say this is to mark the anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi. As I understand it, the Treaty of Waitangi was Mori tribes who had been decimating each other in war, coming together to say to the British, 'we accept British sovereignty. And now, to mark the anniversary, you're going to undo all that by having 50-50 after all. It just doesn't make sense."

"It doesn't make sense to Kiwis either," says Newman. "The reality is that the Treaty brought equality - equal rights for all New Zealanders and that is the way this country has developed."

"There's been a strong movement, I guess, from sovereignty activists that sort of arose in the 80s, but somehow over recent years they've managed to march into many institutions in New Zealand and take over some positions of power," says Newman.

"They've marched now into Government, and as I said, because the Labour Party doesn't need a coalition partner anymore under our MMP electoral system, it means that the Mori caucus actually has a lot of control over Cabinet."

"You mentioned the Mori health system or the Mori Health Authority, which will end up with the right of veto over the whole health system," says Newman.

"We're fighting a battle against Three Waters, where the Government's got this plan to centralise control of water services - that's wastewater, stormwater and freshwater - take it away from councils, and centralise it in four authorities and they'll be half controlled by local iwi," says Newman.

"That'll give them essentially the right of veto over water in New Zealand."

"All this is going on without an open debate," says Newman.

"It's going on secretly. I mean, we're sort of picking up on it but we're small voices trying to warn the country that this is underway and they should be aware of it and if they don't like it they should damn well speak out about it."

"I simply don't understand why there's not a debate," says Bolt. "Even if you were a journalist who loved all this, 50-50 go out there and talk about how good it is, you look up stories about this, I find almost nothing."

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Fact-check of Sky News Australia segment warning of 'apartheid' in New Zealand - Newshub