5 February, 2003

Brash slings mud at workers' rights

Green MP Sue Bradford has dismissed National Party leader Don Brash's claims that the Holidays Act would give Maori unlimited tangi leave, saying they were completely unfounded and could breach the Bill of Rights.

Ms Bradford, the Green Employment spokesperson, said Mr Brash was essentially encouraging employers to break the law and make hiring decisions purely on the basis of race.

"Dr Brash's comments are totally discriminatory and racist," said Ms Bradford. "He's obviously unaware of the Bill of Rights that explicitly rules out racial discrimination.

"He is encouraging employers to break the law by discriminating on the basis of race. What makes it worse is that he's doing so on an alarmingly ignorant interpretation of the new Holidays Act.

"You would think he'd have bothered to read the Act before making such outrageous comments.

"If Mr Brash can't understand a piece of legislation designed to improve the working conditions of all New Zealanders, then the idea that he could one day lead this country is almost too tragic to bear," she said.

Ms Bradford said Dr Brash's campaign of Maori-bashing under the guise of 'equality' was, in reality, an attempt to perpetuate a right-wing white-first agenda.

"He is attempting to dredge up the failed right-wing ideologies of the 1990s that failed this country so miserably. Not only would he turn the clock back, he would also attempt to undo the progress New Zealand has made towards redressing the injustices and inequalities caused by colonisation and its consequences.

"We would all have mud on our faces if we let Dr Brash and his racist fear-mongering back into power," said Ms Bradford.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>