Change is evolutionary.
In the sixties, Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ became an anthem for the changes of the counterculture revolution, as a new generation – rejecting the restrictions of old – ushered in freedom and liberty.
Some change in the twenty-first century, however, is going in the opposite direction, as waves of draconian new rules and regulations increasingly restrict our freedom and liberty. Some liken it to the ‘rise of the machines’, but instead of robots taking control of our lives, its impenetrable bureaucracies.
Many of the things we used to take for granted are now being restricted or banned. In some parts of the country, homeowners can no longer use fireplaces or wood burners, leaving families with no way of keeping warm during winter power cuts. New food regulations are preventing pre-school centres from cutting up fruit as snacks for children – unless they register as commercial kitchens. There’s even a proposed new law in front of Parliament to restrict who can call themselves a ‘teacher’!
And it’s not just laws and regulations that are restricting our liberty – there’s also been a dramatic erosion of our right to free speech.
The politically correct vigilantes, who populate the media and social media these days – promoting feminism, gay rights, biculturalism and other social justice causes – are increasingly attacking and hounding people who say things they disagree with. By acting as judge, jury and executioner, they are ruining careers and destroying lives.
This week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator, former Canadian Judge Brian Giesbrecht, has been looking into the wider impact of one of the more recent high profile international social justice campaigns – the feminist #MeToo movement:
“My parents met during the depression years, when life was tough. They were both teachers in small schools on the prairies. After a brief courtship they married. And it was not just teachers who formed life-long relationships in the workplace. Lawyers married secretaries, doctors married nurses, and bosses married employees. That is how the world worked then. The workplace was considered an acceptable place to find romance.
“How many potential relationships did not come to pass because of misread signals, or differing levels of ardour? How many awkward exchanges were there – some that might be interpreted by one person, as an unwanted bit of attentiveness, or even an assault? The answer is probably ‘very many’. But, we don’t know. The human mating game is very complicated. Some people are better at it than others. Some have a better idea when to pursue and when to retreat. Some are not so good at this delicate art.
“But, what about today? Now the #MeToo movement has arrived. Is the game changed forever? The answer is ‘probably’. Today, men know that a misinterpreted signal can cost them their careers.”
As Brian points out, negative consequences arise when well intentioned causes are captured by extremists.
Earlier this year, 100 French women signed an open letter saying that the #MeToo movement had gone too far. They were concerned that it was becoming a “witch hunt” against men, and that the guilty-until-proven-innocent approach was creating a totalitarian climate.
New Zealand has a long history of feminist activism, and while there have been some notable successes in their battle for equality, the extremism of the movement is causing harm.
In fact, the insidious legacy of the feminist cause can be seen in the devastating statistics on child abuse, educational failure, and social deprivation. These are largely the result of generations of single women on the feminist-inspired single parent benefit trying to raise children on their own.
Introduced in the seventies at the insistence of feminists, nothing has done as much damage to so many women and children as this stand-alone benefit. What’s worse is that no government – not even National – has had the courage to change it. This is in spite of international evidence showing that supporting single mothers through work-related benefits, delivers better outcomes for them and their children.
This same extremism can now be seen in those pushing for gender equality in the workforce. In some fields like education, feminists have all but driven men out of the profession.
But the problem is that no-one is speaking up for men. That’s certainly the case in Parliament where ardent feminist MPs in Select Committees will take departmental heads to task about the percentage of women in their organisations. However, no-one asks when those in charge of female dominated departments intend to hire more men to bring about gender balance!
Indeed, if gender equality is regarded as a worthwhile goal by political leaders, then it needs to go both ways and parties need to ensure they have spokespeople standing up for the rights of men.
Feminist extremism has now spread from the public into the private sector. Calls for gender balance in the Boardroom are becoming more strident. But even though most businesses believe board members should be appointed on merit rather than by quota, few business leaders are prepared to speak out. They are well aware that pushing back against feminist campaigns can lead to a backlash, where radical activists call for boycotts to blackmail business leaders into compliance.
Zealots can also be found in the bicultural movement. In an article in the Dominion Post in 2010, political commentator Chris Trotter described what happened when the highly successful charity Corso – established in 1944 to provide clothing and footwear to millions of people around the world – became radicalised.
“Throughout the 1980s Corso was steadily infiltrated and eventually taken over by radical Maori nationalists. Led by the Harawira family, the radicals insisted that Corso recognise and promote tino rangatiratanga – the Maori right to self-determination. To prove its bona fides to the cause of the tangata whenua, Corso was also required to devote two-thirds of its income to Maori projects. When Corso workers and supporters objected to this takeover they were subjected to withering criticism – it was much easier to leave than to fight. By 1990, the organisation was little more than a hollowed-out shell. New Zealand’s largest and most successful home- grown aid organisation had been destroyed: initially, by ideological extremism; and finally, by radical Maori nationalism.”
Just like Corso, biculturalists have now infiltrated the Salvation Army and are enforcing radical change: “The Salvation Army acknowledges the principles of partnership, protection and participation inherent in the Treaty of Waitangi.”
The charity has signed partnership agreements with Waikato-Tainui and Ngai Tahu to commit to a bicultural future. But their website reveals that not everyone is happy with the takeover: “Pakeha Salvationists continue to wrestle and at times struggle with biculturalism therefore ongoing training will need to be provided on a broad basis within the Salvation Army on biculturalism and its implementation”.
The organisation is now being used as a front for political lobbying by the biculturalists, who are claiming that the Salvation Army is in favour of Maori wards, to help sway the referendum vote that is presently taking place in five local authority areas.
The Anglican Church, which has suffered a similar fate, is now also being used to try to sway the referendum vote in favour of Maori wards. The Church was persuaded in 1992 to embed the Treaty of Waitangi into its constitution, and to racially divide the congregation into Maori, Pacific, and ‘Pakeha’ branches. As a result of these changes, congregation numbers have plummeted and power struggles have broken out as the Maori branch attempts to assert “tino rangatiratanga over taonga as guaranteed in Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi”. In this case, the ‘taonga’ they want to get their hands on is the $300 million Church trust fund!
It also appears that the Royal Society of New Zealand is on the same downhill slide. Last month, retired scientist Dr Bob Brockie spoke out about how in 2010, this august scientific body was persuaded to appoint artistic and literary representatives of Te Whainga Aronui o Te Aparangi onto its board, who now say the Royal Society “needs to place the Treaty of Waitangi centrally”.
As Dr Brockie explains, “The Treaty has no place in scientific endeavour. To make it the centrepiece of the Royal Society agenda beggars belief.”
He further outlines how “Otago University recently proclaimed that Ngai Tahu must be consulted about ‘all areas of research’ before scholars undertake their work. All proposals must be submitted to the Office of Maori Development.” And he states, “I am astonished that a Maori iwi has the audacity to impose these heavy-arm rules on scientists, and more astonished that Otago University has acquiesced in these proscriptive, inquisitorial demands.”
It turns out that Otago University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ngai Tahu in 2013 to “give effect to Ngāi Tahu aspirations and enable the University of Otago to realise its Treaty obligations”.
The NZCPR has also reported that Canterbury University signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” with Ngai Tahu in 2012 and that they have now imposed a compulsory requirement for all students to be instructed in bicultural competency.
This raises questions over how many other universities have succumbed to iwi control, and whether the Tertiary Education Commission has safeguards in place to prevent the promise of iwi funding from compromising the freedom of scholarship of New Zealand universities.
We already know that iwi leaders have infiltrated LGNZ through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2015, and that on some issues like supporting Maori wards, LGNZ has become their mouthpiece.
It turns out that art is not safe from censorship by iwi either.
Just last week, controversy arose over Te Papa’s $1.5 million 1861 painting – View of Mt Egmont, Taranaki, New Zealand, taken from New Plymouth, with Maoris driving off settlers’ cattle – by the famous English artist William Strutt.
A New Plymouth art gallery is negotiating to exhibit the painting next year, but a member of the Maori Advisory Board to the District Council’s Taranaki Museum, is demanding that the plan is dropped.
Peter Moeahu, a former treaty negotiator, claims that the painting depicts Maori as thieves and robbers, stealing from settlers and driving away their cattle. He says the painting should not be displayed publicly as it “perpetuates colonialist propaganda”.
Whether the exhibition goes ahead or whether the gallery caves in to the intimidation remains to be seen, but what is clear, is that with ‘cultural advisors’ like Mr Moeahu in control, the Taranaki Museum does not have the freedom to even consider such an exhibition.
Meanwhile the freedom of speech is not only under threat from activist networks – as Israel Folau recently found out to his cost – but also from our Human Rights Commission.
The Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy presented a report to the United Nations last year, which not only pushed for ‘hate speech’ legislation, but also for sanctions for ‘disharmonious’ speech. It recommend the Government “Review the adequacy of current legislation in addressing and sanctioning hate speech and incitement to racial disharmony, including hateful and disharmonious speech targeted at the religion and beliefs of ethnic minority communities.”
It could be argued that the campaigns run by Susan Devoy over recent years, especially the “That’s Us” campaign against casual racism, and the “Give Nothing to Racism Campaign”, encouraging people to take a stand against racism, have increased racism in New Zealand, by redefining anything offensive as racism.
This is the same pattern followed by the former Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres, who pro-actively promoted Maori sovereignty, including by pressuring local authorities to introduce Maori wards.
By leading initiatives to increase the apparent incidence of racism in society – no doubt to justify their positions and gain more funding – these officials have become a public menace. Since the present Race Relations Commissioner’s warrant expired on March 31, this role should now be disestablished.
Without a doubt, the changes being delivered by the technological revolution are resulting in tremendous benefits to mankind. However, vigilance is needed to ensure that the underlying agenda of those seeking to control our lives – whether through heavy-handed regulation, or through the muzzling of free speech – is not to take away the rights of individuals to have individual opinions. Those rights must be defended at all costs.
THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
Do you agree that the Race Relations Commissioner’s role should be disestablished?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| What place does it have in a supposedly bi-cultural society??? | David |
| God of nations at thy feet……Before God we were all the same. Not judged by our skin colour or culture. With God out of the equation we need laws for literally everything. Confusion reigns and the strongest and loudest get what they want creating even more disharmony | Ido |
| So racist | Mary |
| Yes, she is biased towards one race ! | David |
| Definitely it should. Devoy is a race divider and makes problems instead of solving them. | Alison |
| Its now archaic and unnecessary. The role itself causes as much friction as it “solves”…..and having an open dialogue in the public arena is more healthy. | Peter |
| It is interesting that RRCs are always pushing in one direction and never comment of reverse raceism of which there is plenty and growing by the day/ | Herb |
| Devoys term has been a biased disaster and an embarrassing indictment of the position she holds. | Don |
| Definitely | Gary |
| Like most Govt Depts, the commissioner is too pro maori and everyone else is wrong. | Peter |
| So should the Maori seats. | Simon |
| Yes lets get real and remember that there is more than Maori in this Country, I am becoming more and more “Anti Maori” as there seems to be an AGENDA to give them more and more and the more they get the more they want –even to changing English names to Maori ones, plus adding Maori to English places….Maoris do not even use a universal Maori language and also it is a dead language where else can it be spoken Wake up N Z stop this favouritism we are or were ONE COUNTRY | Marylin |
| It seems that common sense is under attack and in great danger of succumbing to this madness. RIP Common sense. | Marion |
| Should have gone long ago. Does more harm than good. | Ann |
| Total madness. | Dick |
| This role is totally out of date in our society | Gray |
| Well past it’s use by date. Actually never any need for it’s establishment in the first place. | John |
| Susan Devoy needs to go, she is the racist! | Christina |
| All New Zealanders should all be treated equally. | Rosemary |
| This has now become just another Racist organisation promoting Part Maori as a separate identity. | Don |
| We dont need race relations – we just need New Zealander’s to the fore. | Russell |
| Causes more trouble than is solved | Karen |
| Yes. This is in reality just another platform to support racial (Maori) privilege. | John |
| To me the existing commissioner is out to find problems where they don’t exist. To me she would like to restrict freedom of speech. We need less bureaucrats with their own political agendas operating under the banner of protecting us. | Chris |
| The Race Relations Commissioner’s role over recent years seems to have been to “stir up” racial disharmony in our country. The position is a total waste of taxpayer money. As a country we can well do without it. | Gifford |
| In the Philippines duterte gave the human rights commission a $20us budget way to go | Terry |
| Karl Marx would be extremely proud of how NZ has descended into political correctness with a communist, bimbo PM who has turned out to be a ‘useful idiot for marxism’, along with Susan Devoy. | Monica |
| I ave never had any faith in the appointment of Devoy as being any use in NZ politics. She should have stayed in the athletics field | Peter |
| Would save the country a small fortune not having to pay all those parasites and arse licking persons a fat paycheck even though it will cost a golden handshake to get rid of them once and for good. | Richard |
| Sadly, the present Race Relations Commissioner, as with her predecessor has been totally “sucked in” by the extreme pro-Maori radicals. What kind of race relations can we have if they are totally one-sided? The present commissioner should be sacked immediately and if the post is to continue to exist our Race Relations Commissioner must be totally impartial. Once a commissioner has been “captured” by the radicals of one race he or she is no longer fit for purpose. | Robin |
| It is totally biased against Whites in fact there is more Racism against us but you never read about it.isnt the comment by Genter about white males racist | Norm |
| I and many others are so over this racist. Manufactured crap and that our freedom of speech has been seriously compromised | Jillian |
| Agree. In my view this divisive role has created a a them and us society that is likely to get far worse before the average kiwi is brave enough to take action against the propaganda all Europeans are racist. Is there a list of organizations who have signed agreements with Iwi so we can boycott them? The Salvation Army will no longer receive contributions from me or my wider family. | Sam |
| Total rort .. and Ms Devoy has been a waste of space – so damaging!! | Maddi |
| Even more so considering the current Human rights commissioner promotes racism rather than trying to stop it. | Eddie |
| But who is going defend us much maligned Pommy immigrants? | Pete |
| They are so one-eyed as to defy credibility | Barbara |
| Such positions must be totally unbiased. | |
| I’m past commenting. I just can’t believe that our country has come to this state of apartheid. | Joyce |
| I’m sick and tired of all the propaganda put out by the Race Relations office, all the other “voices” for special interest minorities, and the Maori activists. By the time the majority in NZ wake-up (if ever) it will be too late. | Gary |
| The role has been grossly biased towards Maori from its inception. Devoy is a disaster devoid of objectivity | Bryan |
| by actively promoting separatism, as it does. it is guilty or treachery against a stable and cohesive New Zealand society | Gordon |
| We are all equal so why do we need such a role | Kim |
| It should never have been established. | Jim |
| Far too biased | Milton |
| The race relations Commissioner is bias in administering her role. Without going into specifics this race relations commissioner has overstepped her authority. | John |
| Yes it should, as they are causing more harm than good. | Mary |
| The current commissioner is a disgrace for her hypocritical and biased approach to solving issues as they arise. | Tom |
| Because it is always fronted by wish washy dickheads. The present one being the worst | Mike |
| Mostly the comments are only good for entertainment. But sometimes they are ludicrous | Robin |
| The eco-Marxist globalist agenda enshrines division in the name of “diversity.” It lies at the heart of segregational identity politics and along with its bedfellow, the institutionalised dogma of political correctness, will irretrievably undermine the societal health and well being of New Zealand. | Maurice |
| Yes-disestablish it because it is bent and a ruse. | Mark |
| A waste of tax payers money. To PC. | Graham |
| It’s become a hotbed of racism. My god this country is in huge trouble. Within 20 years there will be such racism if allowed to continue with this maori grab for power | Neville |
| We must remember that it was successive National and Labour governments that created and stocked the positions of race relations and human rights commissioners. It is they who should be held accountable for the resulting disasters. | John |
| Stop the nonsense | Gerard |
| The RRC is no longer relevant because in NZ, if you believe in equality, then you are considered racist…as Don Brash discovered. | Bob |
| The people of NZ need to be more tolerant of the views of all, without the current level of PC leading to political agendas and the indoctrination of students in fake history. | John |
| YES,,and the sooner the better. | Athol |
| HELL, Yeah! Can we all band together and bombard the PM with demands for that divisive and frankly useless position to be dissolved? Next is the Ministry for Women. Unless a Ministry for Men is also established. | Colin |
| Yes along with the Human Rights and any future organization that hinders free speech and Democracy | Jack |
| This is what happens in a meek populace. | Rex |
| A further erosion of our liberty | Eric |
| It has a hand in fueling the very thing it was invented to defend | Mark |
| Susan Devoy is white outside but DARK BROWN inside.She,s a menance & SHOULD be sacked before she causes more HARM. | Cindy |
| Don Brash would make a good RRC. | Ross |
| Simply is not required. | Colin |
| An absolute waste of money! | Mark |
| The activities of the latest Commissioner have made her into a laughing stock. She serves no meaningful role other than as a mouthpiece of the politically correct brigade. | karen |
| Yes they should have been disbanded years ago when they became the mouthpiece for racist activists. They are more useless than the UN, and they are pathetic. | Stevoc |
| Just more beauracracy ?? Get rid of the position.! More unnecessary expenses. | Andrew |
| Long overdue! | Peter |
| But change this current one. | Geoff |
| This office has done nothing too settle disputes instead it has driven a wedge between all races involved | Brian |
| I had not realized how damaging the Office has become. | Jim |
| Completely unnecessary – completely ineffective window dressing designed to appease insecure minority groups and those with a mindset pre-disposed to entitlement. | idm |
| I have seen no benefit through having such a role… | Catherine |
| Susan Devoy should have never been appionted to the race commissioner the Maori are doing a great job of making our country raciest our press do no good for the harmony of the country Maori seem to control them too I feel for our Grandchildren that they have been fed a false Maori history which has been written to suit them and thr teaty shoulld have been burn’t years ago as it has no relevence to our present age but if you are young you get brain washed to a big ly | Russell |
| She is a nutter | Simon |
| This position is promoting racism utilising as many beureacratic channels as possible. | Anon |
| Absolutely! This RRC position is just another wedge driven into what is supposed to be a balanced society. What you have described in your article is but a mirror of our present dire situation.We as conservative readers for obvious reasons cannot rely on the established Parties anymore , because they either promote and support directly these destructive movements ( #metoo gender politics tribal elite machinations etc) or do not even criticize current developments ( see National– NZ First ) As long as we do not have a true and strong center right conservative Party movement in this country nothing will change and we can look forward to a massive and accelerated deterioration of democracy. Only when it is too late some of our docile Kiwis will wake up and feebly start to complain. | Michael |
| Susan Devoy used a champion squash player but she is out of her depth as the Race Relations Commissioner. She should be sacked and the position scrapped as soon as possible. Tomorrow would be a could date. | Colin |
| With the utterances emanating from this office, it cannot be said that the office is doing anything to support the concept of ONE NATION with ALL CITIZENS EQUAL UNDER THE LAW. This office is now also bending interpretation of the Treaty to something entirely different to that envisaged in the drafting of the document. | Michael |
| It seems to have outlived its usefulness | Laurel |
| The infiltration of Maori values into so many aspects of NZ life is most concerning and must be halted It would seem that the average New Zealander is ignorant of the success of Maori in gaining so much influence and control out of all proportion to their small numbers in total society. | William |
| Of course. I have long held that view. Too many aspects of governing our lives is pathological. | Paul |
| Susan Devoy should have stayed with her squash racquet…totally useless she is well past her use by date…she would be the most biased race relations head yet ..we don’t need a race relations person..what happened to democracy. oh that’s right the 15% race of partbreds have taken over. treaty of Waitangi is a bottomless pit. It time is up just think of the money that would help the down and out .. | Dianne |
| In my opinion the role of RRC is outdated. Problems today are more to do with ideology than race, but Dame Susan doe not appear to know the difference. | Judy |
| Yes, definitely! – one less, useless, “black hole,” (pun intended), for taxpayers money to be shovelled into. President Trump is expending massive effort in draining the US, corruption ridden, swamp – we have been doing just the opposite for far too long. High time our parasitic brown swamp critters got the same treatment! | Scott |
| Yes. It is well past its useby date; that is if it was ever of any use. If recent appointees are anything to go by we are bereft of suitable candidates in any event. | Gary |
| It is a pro-racist organisation not an anti racist one. | Martin |
| Waste of space | Russ |
| Most definitely YES ! the Race Relations Commissioner’s role should be abolished. Then invest in a copy of a book titled, The FRAUD of HUMAN RIGHTS by Robert Stanmore, published and available in Wellington. After a thorough read it should reveal to you that Western civilization is the middle of WWIII, this time being eroded from within. | Don |
| Recent Commissioners have simply been racist in their administration and the is NOT the Kiwi way. | Ian |
| And not before time. | Benjamin |
| Definitely | John |
| Yes, along with the department. | Neil |
| This office is a front for pc racism and ongoing proponent of institutional censorship | Willy |
| Like many other tax payer funded bodies this has got to go !!!!! | Alan |
| soon | Eddie |
| Susan Devoy should never have been offered this position | Anthony |
| see various Jordan Pederson & Stefan Molyneuax articles on YOU-TUBE Also Pat Condell and Tommy Robinson. Restricting free speech is the beginning of totalitarianism. Resist at all costs. | Bruce |
| Absolutely!!!! | Suzanne |
| IiTS A LOAD OF BULL WOOL | Graeme |
| Race relations should never become an issue for anybody who wishes to live in NZ | Jim |
| One people one law | Don |
| Its primary purpose is good, it has got out of hand and needs pulling back, but not disestablished | Gerald |
| The position is in itself racist and should never have been created. | Irvine |
| I used to respect Susan Devoy, but not anymore. It’s odd how all the people who have been in the position of Race Conciliator have been so biased against the majority of NZers. The complete opposite of what their job should entail. | Lorraine |
| Yes Devoy is devoid of any common sense, just like a lot of other dimwits in that arena. race relations radicals are not needed or wanted in kiwis land, down with the treaty of tangiiwaitangi | James |
| The Treaty was judged a “simple nullity” by Chief Justice Prendergast in the 1877 Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington case because it did not comply with the “Law of Nations”. Our first founding document is Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter of 25-08-1839 which “extended the boundaries of New South Wales to encompass all of the islands of New Zealand” The second Royal Charter of 16-11-1840 legally separated us from New South Wales; gave us our first Constitution, English law only; English language, own Courts to oversee English law and our own flag which is older than Australia’s in spite of flag change propaganda. There is no history of the Treaty of Waitangi outside the boundaries of New South Wales and no mention of this “simple nullity” within the Royal Charters. The above Charters are held in Archivs NZ, Wellington. Wake-up New Zealand. | George |
| Susan Devoy has made so many poor decisions during her term, that she has tarred the position of Race Relations Commissioner to make it look like a mouthpiece for the Maori ‘gimme’ brigade. I had no idea of the way Maoris have infiltrated CORSO,, the Salvation Army, The Royal Society, the Anglican Church, the Universities of Otago and Canterbury and the LGNZ. Thank you Dr Newman for drawing this to the public’s attention. This is horrifying and worrying and needs urgent attention from all Kiwis. | Chris |
| But there needs to be a recognition that “race relations” is not simply about Maori, and the ToW. | Andy |
| Does complete opposite of what it is intended for. | Roy |
| Yesterday would be too soon! | Bruce |
| This commission is actually fostering racism by attacking every comment it does not agree with. It has greatly harmed free speech. | Graeme |
| Dame Susan has become a blinkered radical. | Ian |
| She’s a racist herself. Can’t see that allowing a Maori rugby team is racist. | Ian |
| The Race Relations Commissiois devising society | John |
| Either disestablish or get a more objective commisioner than Devoy. | Auntie Podes |
| It is has been obvious for a long time that RRC is a mind terrorist. Condemn everything that does not suit Maori or other dark skinned peoples. | Murray |
| It should have been done long ago when de Bres started to get out of control and thought he could play God. | Richard |
| Get rid of these lunatic cultural Marxist and the rest of lunatic thought police who have taken over free speech in this country | Steve |
| Yes! However I can’t wee it happening given the strangle hold IWI have. What may well be the outcome is that the next RRC could well be an IWI member. | David |
| Only help minorities, not the majority, hence biased | James |
| The RRC has only ever promoted apartheid. | Mark |
| With 97 privileges & benefits given to maori, that no other New Zealander has available, why can they still not cope with modern society? Our freedoms have been rapidly eroded for a long time now. Why?, because the same incompetent political ‘Parties’ keep getting elected into power. This country is morally bankrupt, so we the citizens, are suffering the consequences.. | A.G.R. |
| If Susan Devoys performance of what we are going to get in the future, more and more are going to be told by these over paid non necessary government employees who contribute nothing to the help us get on together, as people. But in fact drive wedges between us. When the very thing they are supposed to do is help unity. They shut down discussions on sensitive issues, with their PC dogma and are actually destructive to society. Susan was a great squash player. she should have stuck to that., | Dene |
| Susan Devoy a wonderful squash player should never been appointed to this position | Harry |
| She’s hopeless | Nev kath |
| I wonder how keen folk would be to stand for Maori Wards if there was no remuneration involved? | Ken |
| Yes most certainly. I can’t recall any of the holders of this position as making a positive contribution to the notion that we are all one people who should celebrate our diversity and all work together for the collective good of New Zealand. The current Commissioner is a perfect argument for the disestablishment of the position! | Rex |
| It presently supports Apartheid and Maori sovereignty. | john |
| More racial unnecessity ? | Ian |
| Dame Susan should have stuck to squash.She is more racist and stupid to hold such a title. | Ross |
| We are a multi cultural society not just bi cultural an office that advocates for one group has no place in NZ | Bruce |
| Decisions and and attitudes have been promulgated without me being able to express my view point | Brian |
| ASAP!! | Helen |
| He iwi tahi tatou. Discriminating against paople on the ground that they have ancestors of a particular race is already illegal. We don’t need an organisations of beaurau crats paid to promote separatism. | Don |
| Most so called natives are more than 50% white | Jack |
| It has lost all credibility. | Fiona |
| The Commissioner should be joining the likes of NZCPR in identifying and speaking out against institutional racism. | Colin |
| It is absolutely Racist – from the moment of its introduction ! | Hylton |
| If equality is to work then it needs to happen naturally, not by dictatorial authority performed by unelected martinents of extremism. Disestablish that most divisive pseudo governmental trouble makers blunt instrument of subversion immediately. Take the funding that that despicable organization soaks up and used it to give nurses a decent pay rise and a few extra nurses in every ward. After that get rid of Womens affairs and apply the funds to providing more surgical services so that people are not waiting months for cancer treatment and surgical procedures. That would fix our Health System deficiencies in two modest adjustments to taxpayer funded wastage. | Dianna |
| It’s solution looking for a problem. | Richard |
| Let us keep free speech, we are going down hill now we do not want to carry on this path of destruction. | Ross |
| Those in control like Devoy are evil and that the Commissioners role should be cancelled and placed in a trash bin.along with the likes of me too plus the greens and and Winston Petres mob. | Ken |
| It was a divisive creation from the start and should never have seen the light of day | <ike |
| Most definitely | Trevor |
| Yes, I see the Race Relations Commissioner’s role as another political position for the benefit of ‘their’ racists – and guess who are the most racist amongst society? It’s all part of United Nations and socialists drive to divide families and society as they push their dictatorial principles on their manipulated broken ‘racial’ society. | Stuart |
| Absolutely, just a further waste of taxpayer monies keeping this office open. | Chris |
| But the role of promoting racial harmony needs to be reinforced and any commmissioner who perpetuates racial privilege severly censored and if necessary fired and chasrged with a criminal offence, Dame Susan included. | John |
| Should never have been established in the first place | Bill |
| The Commissioner is only promoting racial disharmony. | Andrew |
| The race relations commissioner’s role is a very emotive one and todate decisions have been swayed by various advocates. As we are all one and nobody should have more rights than others. We must all obey the same rules regardless of skin colour, I see no reason to retain the post. | Dennis |
| Should never have been established in the first place. It has become an encouragement to racism. | Peter |
| role becoming too extremist | Max |
| IMHO the Race Relations Commissioner perpetuates racism, after all no bureaucrat ever wants to put themselves out of a role so it is not in their interest to ever succeed in their given task. | John |
| When was the last time am impartial comment was raised by the Race Relations office? | Maurice |
| It has had its day and not seen as useful in the present climate. | Warren |
| A useless and often silly commission that worsens race relations. | Lee |
| We are supposed to be one people If that is not the case then when all the Treaty money is given to the tribes why Don’t they build there own houses. Freedom of speech has gone along with The goliwog | Rjta |
| Absolute waste of money which would be better used building houses. | Stuart |
| Of course it should. .. Its a bloody joke! | Des |
| sooner the better | Richard |
| The RRC has polarized race relations in NZ instead of harmonising it. It has tried to quash and freedom of speech especially if it has anything to do with criticising Maori. | Keith |
| I fear for the future of NZ. We appear to be rapidly heading down a path which will be detrimental to the unity of our country – a division into “them” & “us” It must be stopped NOW. | Brian |
| The role continues to highlight differences rather than promoting harmony by celebrating the common virtues and aspirations of all New Zealanders (who are all either immigrants or the descendants of immigrants – bar none) | Philip |
| Get rid of it | Mike |
| She is totally racist and sexist/pro gays, lesbians and thus biased so must go. | Terry |
| Do we not want fairness? | Harvey |
| Long past its use by date — | john |
| a disgusting one eyed racist, ageist organisation | Chris |
| At present the RRC’s role serves no beneficial purpose. Were the role to be filled by someone with a neutral bias, them some good might come of it. | Peter |
| Yes the Commission must be disestablished.Freedom of speech should mean what it says and apply to everyone.In most cases it does but not to White Heterosexual males. No matter what they say they attacked as racist,anti women , anti gay in fact anti everything. Freedom of speech should be universal . | Steve |
| Long past time it was abolished! The current incombent lied about the Rangiaowhia incident and refuses to admit it. We don’t need this useless position. | Roger |
| Absolutely. | Di |
| Long overdue. The whole thing is out of hand. | Tim |
| Unquestionably! The position only serves to inflame rather than unify. | Andrew |
| I saw Susan as totally one eyed regarding maori, the sooner she is gone the better. | Norman |
| She calls people opposed to t reo on RNZ “bigots”. RNZ tell those who don’t understand what is being said to look it up (FFS). We are being treated as subjects – they are not public servants. We who oppose are scattered (in caves) while the other side (RNZ/Spinoff) occupy the center of town. BTW they don’t tell us how much flack they take at RNZ from texting do they???? The invasion of the Chatham’s neutralises their post modernist lies [see Michael King Speech Allegiance to One’s Origins: The Consequences of Belief ] | John |
| When it comes to a general election, the majority of NZr’s don’t really think about who they need to “keep out.” Instead they vote for who they want in and in doing so, every time get exactly what they voted for. They shouldn’t complain. | Ray |
| It is causing too much disharmony | Erwin |
| The position has done more to promote racial disharmony than to discourage it. | Geoffrey |
| It would seem that this position appointed for the right reasons, along the way appears to side only with minority groups! Where is the fairness in that? | Frank |
| She causes more problems than she fixes. | Lloyd |
| Having such a role only adds to racial problems. When will different groups and society’s realize that Maori are laughing at them all the way to the bank. It is a bit late but we should be ignoring every claim that Maori make ,AFTER ALL THEY ARE ONLY A MINORITY. | Tom |
| This present one seems to be a complete waste of time and money she has made some dumb decisions. | Digby |
| It’s time to “squash” this organisation for sure as like all good intentioned organisations it soon became a “raquet” It is now “devoyed” of common sense. | Brian |
| Most definitely. Racism is rife in NZ, mainly Maori against Pakeha. I grew up in a multicultural society in Europe and coming here I find is the most racist country I’ve lived in. | Kerin |
| As a race relations conciliator Dame Susan Devon was a top class squash player | Peter |
| Creates separatism | Ruth |
| Superfluous. Maori’s already in control and running the country | Pierre |
| This position causes more disharmony in the community | Grace |
| It is not required. In NZ there is only one “race” maori. Maori have now taken over our society and get their own way in just about everything. So sad, but we have let it happen folks. | Darryl |
| The Commission is nothing less than a vehicle for the promotion of Apartheid in NZ | Bob |
| They have become yet another mouth piece for the Tribalists movement. | Bruce |
| No longer an advocacy of racial balance and equality but a promoter of racial disharmony and division. | Wayne |
| There have been no reasonable decisions from this office over the past years. It’s toothless and has become a laughing stock … | Chris |
| It should be abolished immediately, There is no place in our society for so called leaders that are brainwashed by activists and ideaologists. | Mike |
| Yes, most definitely. | Sue |
| All too PC | RICHard |
| She is an idiot | Leon |
| Might as well abolish it because it is not a neutral and fair institution. | pdm |
| The slippery slope to bipartisanship is becoming very steep. the future of an egalitarian one nation is fast disappearing and I fear for our younger people and the future of our great country because of the separatist and bi-cultural agenda of our maori and politically correct sympathisers. This travesty must be stopped! The big questions are is it too late and how? | Rod |
| They are not improving anything. | Gerhard |
| Population Is missing out! | Sandra |
| But it may be too late. | William |
| The cause of Maori Sovereignty is simply the minority wanting power over the majority. This minority see their actions as utu because so called evil colonialists represented by every “pakeha” are now in control and “that’s not fair.” | Ray |
| At the present time it is the Racist Commissioner and is not impartial | Arthur |
| No Brainer. | Bruce |
| The last two Race Relations Commissioners have convinced me that this organisation is damaging race relations, not improving it. | John |
| Most definitely!! | Terry |
| With out doubt. | David |
| It has proved to be a failure and a blight on normal free speech | Russell |
| The racism is all one way. Their way She serves no useful purpose | Frank |
| It would seem that all is NOT well in the “Land of the Long White Cloud”. The Cloud is becoming Muddied.. | Carl |
| We already have adaquate laws in place to cover any genuine problem our citizens may experience | Rob |
| She has gone way out of line. She thinks every race except Maori is rasist why has she so much power to say things like that | Cherryl |
| It is only creating more racism in New Zealand. | Ronald |
| And some actions rescinded | Simon |
| If we all called ourselves New Zealanders , we don’t need a an organisation aimed at dissecting our society on the basis of ethnicity and promoting law changes to pretend that we are different and should individually have special rights. | Barry |
| All the Race Relations Commissioner achieves is to maintain the indefensible APARTHEID system in NZ. | Geoff |
| …Freedom of Speech…take this basic human right away and all is lost… | ChrisH |
| Complete waste of time. | Mike |
| The role still has some relevance, but the entrenched attitudes that the Commission has absorbed over the last decade must be eliminated. There is now no voice for rational Kiwi common sense – the politicians must step up and recognise the population has lost faith in the way the HRC is acting and discriminating against a now divided community. | Marc |
| It’s one way traffic in favour of racist Maori groups | Kevin |
| This is a classic example of a job trying to find problems to justify its existence. Thus, Devoy goes looking for trouble and, because we humans are all fallible, she’s guaranteed to find it. She’s out of her depth, in terms both of intellect and character; but, even if someone more able were to be appointed as her replacement, this would not resolve the fact that it simply isn’t possible to coerce – by legislation or otherwise – people into thinking, speaking, and acting in an arbitrarily politically correct way. The position of the Race Relations Commissioner is high-ranking in the hierarchy of the Thought Police. Get rid of it. | Graham |
| Its creating more problems that it is fixing | Les |
| Long past due. | Robbie |
| Dame Susan Devoid has leant so far to the side of Maori that the role no longer is functionable. | Jon |
| This mouthpiece for the racialisationists and seperationists has become more abhorrent by the year … as this article illustrates, a small, previously democratic country is so easy to maneouvre and mold into a fascists’ paradise! | Paul |
| It’s a waste of time | Graeme |
| Captured by Maori activists | Jeff |
| The office and it’s staff are divisive as opposed to cohesive. They also ignore the majority views in favour of radical individuals when making decisions | Vernon |
| It has done nothing but promote disharmony | Kevin |
| It appears she has a racist agenda against white people. | Graeme |
| Or perhaps an equal and opposite Race Relation Officer appointed to defend the rights of all those who are NOT Maori! | Susan |
| NZ has never been so divided. | Chris |
| Not required. | Terry |
| This is just another racist position pandering to the part Maori . When did you ever see a complaint by a European about racism upheld ? The real truth is that there is far more racism buy our part Maori , just stand on the side line when a part Maori team is playing a predominately European team. | Jock |
| Along with human rights, children, families, Waitangi, women’s affairs and Maori seats. | Hugh |
| Because it’s racist | Cutty |
| The Lady is out of her depth and should resign along with her dept and it his hard to believe that she was put there by a Nat Govt | Allan |
| Race relations is a falsehood, paying huge salaries and the creation of a whole department of people to oversee it is nothing short of a gross waste resources. | Peter |
| It is so obvious that the race relation office is actively racist and very bias. It would be better for New Zealand that it did not exist. | Donald |
| The office, in existing primarily to selectively uphold problems by Maori against New Zealanders, has wrought distortions that have resulted in far greater damage to our “race relations” than anything we could ever have imagined. PC has not just bowed to, it has been enthusiastically, unjustifiably and completely absurdly embraced. | Jim |
| Yes! It is being used to actually promote racism, & denying people freedom of speech. I have had enough of this dangerous manipulation. | Heather |
| Absolutely. There is no case for such a role in a one people one country ideal and whomever decided just because you are a world beating squash player you would make a great advocate for race relations is an ass. | Mary |
| Certainly as we dont need another nit wit devoid of common sense and with an agenda perpetuating the nonsence that has come out of this office | Phil |
| It is racist, we are ALL kiwis. | George |
| The sooner the better | Elizabeth |
| Absolutely. | Alan |
| We are all one people so why do we need a race relations commissioner. Surely this can all be sorted out by local communities getting together and talking some good old fashion common sense. | Tim |
| Can’t wait to see the end of Susan Devoy. There should be no place for a Race Relations Commissioner. I doubt there have been many if any who have achieved anything positive. Susan Devoy was totally unqualified for the role. | Gail |
| Yes, especially as it’s inverse racism and is only for the use and rights of certain sectors of the population. | Audrey |
| We could disestablish Race Relations, Human Rights and Womens Affairs, the Courts are adequate to handle any real requirements and avoid un-necessary UN Agenda application that does not have voter support. We need to also disestablish the Apartheid Treaty Tribunal, Disestablish Maori seats and Repeal the RMA.. Strict vetting of immigration and elimination of any refugee without direct supportive connection might mean the country could just weather out the next coming economic downturn. | Richard |
| Of course. This was a waste of everybody’s time and money in the first place. | John |
| Not needed at all. Let’s save our money | Eric |
| Yes, the Race Relations Commissar and the Human Rights Commission should be abolished. | David |
| These positions are a menace to society. They are acting against ‘the people’ and yet ‘we the people’ fund them. How bizarre is that! | Michael |
| Free speech needs to be protected at all costs. | Clare |
| Susan Devy has been a huge disappointment. She did not have the guts to stand up for what she believed in. The sovereignty activists ‘turned’ her good and proper. Just like they have done to the former Mayor Andrew Judd. It is pathetic to watch. | Paul |
| These sorts of roles have no place in a modern society. The Bill of Rights protects us. The UN directed Human Rights Act should be repealed – and with it all the Commissioners. | Simon |