A Racist Barrier Removed

Wednesday 22 Sep 2004

Stephen Franks - Press Releases - Treaty of Waitangi & Maori Affairs

ACT New Zealand Maori Affairs Spokesman Stephen Franks today approved Minister Trevor Mallard's move to make scholarships for Teacher Trainees available to all New Zealanders, regardless of race.

"I am pleased that the racist barriers to receipt of these scholarships have been removed," Mr Franks said.

"Mr Mallard should have done this as Race Relations Co-ordinating Minister. That would show that he is rooting out race distinctions wherever targeting should, instead, be based on need.

"Instead, however, he has announced it as Education Minister. It seems he might have been bogged down elsewhere, so perhaps he is working on the huge task of cleaning up his own Ministry.

"Mr Mallard will be a stronger man than I think he is, if he can get rid of the `Two World Views' racism that infects his, and many other, departments," Mr Franks said.

ENDS

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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>>