22 April 2009 Media Statement

McCully moves to muzzle commissioner

The Government’s attack on Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres is a blatant attempt to bully him into silence and is completely inappropriate, Labour’s Associate Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Grant Robertson says.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully’s comments in the New Zealand Herald today are petty and have the hallmarks of a personal vendetta.

“More concerning, however, is Mr McCully’s attempts to try to muzzle the Race Relations Commissioner,” says Grant Robertson.

“The position of the Race Relations Commissioner is an independent one and any attempt to curtail the freedom of speech of the Commissioner or the Human Rights Commission is totally inappropriate.

“I’m sure Mr McCully’s Maori Party colleagues will have some serious concerns about what he’s saying and the implications of it.

“Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples and his colleagues have kept quiet on National’s decision to boycott the UN Conference on Racism, but it’s hard to believe they condone the stance taken,” Grant Robertson says.

“In multilateral discussions there will be things said that we find unpalatable, but it is vital that we are at the table to ensure that New Zealand’s opposition to racism in any form is expressed at the highest levels.

“New Zealand should have been represented at the UN Conference on Racism by the Government, but in its absence it is even more appropriate that our Race Relations Commissioner was present,” Grant Robertson says.

“Mr McCully should stop his bullying behaviour. I also call on the Maori Party to join Labour in condemning his stance.”

ENDS

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