Matua Kahurangi
Just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes.
Once again, race-based policies are rearing their divisive head in New Zealand’s public institutions, this time at the University of Auckland. ACT MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar has called out the university over a job listing that appears to blatantly breach the Human Rights Act 1993 by explicitly requiring applicants to be of Māori descent.
The role in question, part of the ‘Kaihōpara Raukura – Māori Graduate Programme,’ includes a line stating that applicants “will whakapapa Māori/be of Māori descent”. In a letter sent to Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater, Dr Parmar raises serious concerns, pointing out that this wording appears to unlawfully exclude applicants based on race or ethnic origin.
“This is discrimination,” the letter states plainly, adding that the job description may breach sections 22 and 23 of the Human Rights Act, which protect individuals from being treated unfairly in employment based on race.
Beyond the legal concerns, Dr Parmar rightly focuses on the broader principle: that New Zealand should be a society where people are treated equally, regardless of their ancestry. Instead, taxpayer-funded universities are engaging in hiring practices that divide people based on race – undermining unity, equality and merit.
Universities should be champions of truth, fairness and opportunity, not hotbeds for race-based activism disguised as progressive policy. These programmes are not about uplifting disadvantaged individuals: they are about entrenching privilege for one ethnic group while excluding others, purely based on their bloodline. That is racism, plain and simple.
Dr Parmar has called on the University of Auckland to immediately amend the job description and review its recruitment policies to ensure similar race-based exclusions are not used again. She urges the institution to act quickly to bring its recruitment into line with both the law and the principle of equal rights for all.
New Zealanders should be furious. Public institutions are supposed to model fairness and equal opportunity, not become playgrounds for politically driven race politics. This kind of policy is not only divisive, but dangerous. It is time to put an end to the race-based bullshit and return to a system that values individuals for their skills, character, and potential, not the colour of their skin or the ancestry in their veins.
Make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission here - https://tikatangata.org.nz/complaint-form
This article was originally published on the author’s Substack.
