We all know that the Act party is comprised of fruit loops and people who probably can't tie their own shoelaces together. They are clearly insane and perhaps it’s time to call in the professionals. What else could be the diagnosis for their latest race based attempt to gain media attention?To be fair, it's nothing new for the Act party to play the race card close to an election whereby they claim white old men are getting discriminated against. You might recall their 'Fed up with pandering to Maori radicals' adverts prior to the 2011 election? But the latest round of Act party race baiting really takes the cake.
Last Tuesday, 3 News reported:
In a speech to ACT's Waikato conference at the weekend, Dr Whyte said there were many areas where New Zealand law "fails to be properly blind to race".
Jamie Whyte is correct...the law isn't "properly" blind to race. Maori in particular are far more likely to be targeted by police, which leads in part to higher incarceration rates.
There is no question that indigenous New Zealanders receive disproportionately longer and harsher sentences compared to other ethnicities. In fact, such institutional racism is something the Police and the Ministry of Justice both acknowledge.
Here's a Ministry of Justice report Identifying and Responding to Bias in the Criminal Justice System (PDF) from 2009:
The discrimination thesis argues that levels of ethnic disparity should be understood (at least in part) as the result of direct and indirect discrimination within the criminal justice system and society more broadly.
The UN Human Rights Council also recognises the systemic bias against Maori within the country's criminal justice system. Furthermore, they say that any bias against Maori leading to their incarceration more than other New Zealanders constitutes arbitrary detention and is illegal under international law.
None of that research showing Maori are getting a raw deal seems to matter to Act party leader Jamie Whyte though. He thinks the system is racist against rich white old men, and goes on to claim:
"Maori are legally privileged in New Zealand today, just as the aristocracy were legally privileged in pre-revolutionary France."
Dr Whyte says there's no place for race-based law and his party would be looking to have all race-based laws repealed.
Along with Jamie Whyte needing some medical attention, it would be great to see the current government actually doing something about the well-researched institutional racism within New Zealand's criminal justice system.
Unfortunately the current Police and Corrections Minister claims there's no institutional racism against Maori. Anne Tolley has therefore refused to do anything about the concerns raised by the UN and her Ministry's own Research Unit.The National party has also indicated that, with enough support, they would form a coalition with the prejudiced Act party. In my opinion, Key should be very careful about being associated with people who are clearly racist!
The really sad thing is that Jamie Whyte is speaking to a small but determined group of bigots who have gained far too much power in New Zealand for far too long. Clearly a vote for the Act party is a vote for a continuation of the biased system that is impeding Maori progress. Likewise a vote for National would ensure the continuation of institutional racism within our criminal justice system.
