“A racist outburst from the Dean of the AUT Law School targeting an ACT MP on the basis of her being an immigrant reveals exactly why we need the Treaty Principles Bill,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

In response to Dr Parmjeet Parmar's draft bill to stop the allocation of university resources based on race, Khylee Quince posted on Facebook: ‘Alternative headline: Immigrant forgets where she lives.’

Dr Parmar has responded, saying: "I am a New Zealand citizen and I am not here at Ms Quince's mercy, or anyone's mercy. I know exactly where I live: in a democracy where everyone has the right to freedom from discrimination. Including immigrants."

“This law school Dean believes immigrants should be singled out for different treatment," says Mr Seymour.

"The Vice Chancellor needs to stop this rhetoric. How many immigrant students study law at AUT? Should they be treated differently with demands to ‘remember where they live?’

“In another time that would be called racism. But it’s 2025 and institutions like universities have cloaked that kind of view with respectability.

"Of course, all New Zealand citizens are either immigrants or descended from immigrants. It’s extraordinary that we need to debate whether some citizens should have the same basic rights as other citizens, but here we are.

"Whether the Treaty promised equal rights is a civil rights issue, and our major institutions are on the wrong side of history. They’re experiencing collective brain rot.

“Universities are infecting the minds of young people with the virus of identity politics. Journalism and law schools are pumping out young left-wing activists who believe tangata whenua and tangata tiriti should have different rights.

“The courts, of course, have decided the Treaty is a partnership requiring different rights for different groups. The question is, what will our elected Parliament decide when it’s asked to take a stand?"

Note: AUT Dean of Law Khylee Quince has previously drawn attention for saying Gary Judd KC "can go die quietly in the corner" for opposing compulsory tikanga studies at law schools.

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