319. Estate agents working in NZ must take Māori culture trainings — or lose their NZREA sales licence for 5 years. Agent Janet Dickson refuses this indoctrination
NZ Real Estate Agency has set the rules for sales agents since 2008. Every agent must be licenced. But a new woke regulation requires agents to take a compulsory course in Māori culture
Janet Dickson has worked successfully as a real estate agent in New Zealand for 30 years. She objects to being forced to take a newly-introduced training course which focuses on Maori culture and the Māori view of land, Waitangi Treaty etc.
Consequences
If she doesn’t take the training her licence to work with her clients selling their houses, farms, commercial buildings etc will be suspended by REANZ for 5 years.
Thus this new woke regulation will prevent her from earning her living selling real estate for five years. Remember she has been working at this for the past 30 years without any problems.
The course requires real estate agents (realtors) to study Māori culture, Māori language and customs. particularly with respect to land, and have a Māori-focused understanding of the historical context of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi).
More than a hundred estate agents have expressed support for Dickson’s stand. She has engaged a lawyer to take her case to a judicial review. Since then her employer (Harcourts) has directed her “to go”.
Dickson says all this is “Woke Madness”. I agree with her.
What’s your view of this? It’s likely to explode into a major problem in the real estate business. It could spill over into education, health, media etc.
Report #319. BrianMorris.Substack.com
.
Hello Brian, I really do enjoy your updates, thank you.
A most interesting topic for me as a veteran agent of 37 years...
Word on the street is that most agents are supporting Janet Dickson for standing up and voicing her concern. The paper has absolutely no relevance to selling property as I have in my life career never had a transaction involving Maori land or anything of this nature. Off shore buyers are not interested, they are more concerned about fore shore and OIO etc. The income stream from this new regulation is quite lucrative and it makes you wonder what the motive really is? Funnily enough, as a NZ citizen and having attended my shocking in Otara as a child, I was well adversed with local culture at school, learnt to speak Maori and French and 17 years ago when I completed my full real estate license to form my own company, I topped the class in the paper Treaty of Waitangi with 99% ... It is always a fond memory. However in closing, it has absolutely nothing to do with transacting a deal for a wiling buyer and willing seller. Michael Boulgaris
Hello readers, apologies for grammar, replace the word shocking to SCHOOLING, please,
Michael