Last month a group of wāhine Māori gathered in solidarity after a Māori woman reported she was racially abused on Ōwairaka in Auckland. Indigenous human rights experts Tina Ngata, Dr Arama Rata and Dilwin Santos outline the foundations of racism in Aotearoa, and the structural changes needed. Warning: the following article contains racist language. Under … Read more
The race relations commissioner, Meng Foon, has just sent the following letter to leaders of New Zealand political parties. Tēnā koe, Talofa, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Kia orana, 你好, Namaste. My role as Race Relations Commissioner is to promote and enhance harmonious communities in our diverse nation. As the leader of a political party who manages … Read more
The British Tribe Next Door attracted over 60 complaints of racist themes from viewers when it first aired in the UK. Now TVNZ is airing it on Wednesday nights, attracting concerns from members of Aotearoa’s African community and a letter from race relations commissioner Meng Foon. When The British Tribe Next Door was released in … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: School food programme welcomed with questions about scale, vital tourist infrastructure under pressure, and Transmission Gully won’t be tolled. It’s difficult to do anything on a chronically empty stomach, let alone learn. That is the rationale behind a new announcement from the government, to provide students … Read more
Over the course of the local elections period, The Spinoff will be publishing primers on some of the most interesting races around the country. Today, Alice Webb-Liddall looks at the Gisborne District Council election. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Govt rejects idea to ban petrol car imports in 2035, firefighters say they’re facing a workforce crisis, and Tamihere pledges rate freeze. A strange sort of stoush erupted at the end of last week around petrol and diesel car sales. On Friday, Newsroom reported that the ministry of … Read more
Meng Foon has been a fixture in Gisborne local government for more than two decades. Today he starts a new role, as race relations commissioner. Alice Webb-Lidall heads over to his Gisborne home for dinner, to find out what he’ll miss as mayor, and how he’ll approach his new job This feature is made possible … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Deep wounds shown by Captain Cook vandalism, expert fact checks claims around electric cars, and police deployed to fight non-existent crime wave. A Gisborne Captain Cook statue has been vandalised, and the message painted on it shows the depth of tensions that will surround the 250th … Read more
Over a year after the office was vacated, a new race relations commissioner has been appointed. What do we know about the new guy, Meng Foon? A little over a year ago Susan Devoy stood down as race relations commissioner, declaring herself devastated but vindicated over scandals within the Human Rights Commission. Since then the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. A brief note to start today’s edition: The aftermath of the Christchurch mosque attacks will always be an important set of stories to tell. Further down in today’s edition are the most important developments on that from the weekend. However, many other stories from last week need to be caught … Read more