The New Zealand Maori Council has called on the nation to address all forms of racism and not to shy away from an honest conversation about where it’s taking hold. The call comes after the Nelson Club decided to keep a member after his comments became public about Muslims and people of color having a lower IQ than white people. The Nelson Club is a closed men’s only exclusive group that excludes women and has now made itself a “secret society”.

“When you read through the content of the emails and what has unfolded you find a guy who was a member of a far right UK party who held some petty abhorrent views. He’s said, and his lawyer mounted a case, that people of color, black people have a low IQ compared to white people. You have others lamenting about how things would be better with white people leading countries and so on. Its pretty disgusting stuff and more to the point it has no place in todays New Zealand.” Matthew Tukaki has said.

“More to the point just how is it that an exclusive men only club can operate like this – where they get to somehow ply their racist views, taunt all of us and then claim that they somehow have the right? That’s not good enough. We are already dealing with a Mayoral candidate in the Western Bay of Plenty who claims she’s not racist on the one hand but proceeds to tell us naughty Maori’s off on the other hand by saying we’d basically wreck the joint if we got our land back.” Tukaki said

“I am sick and tired of every day seeing more of these people emerge, or be pulled from the depths of their caves, to ply their trade. This is now Christchurch happened – a white male emboldened by hate and influenced by the words of others – a license to somehow operate. Well I say now and the Maori Council says no. It’s time for this all to be bought to the surface and for us to deal with it.” Tukaki said

“In the case of the Nelson Club rules and laws that it allow it to exist in its current form need to be reviewed. These old exclusive little men’s club need to go. A message should be sent that New Zealanders will not put up with this. In light of the former UK national who now resides in New Zealand – we don’t want people like that here. We should not be afraid to review the character test for new residents and we should certainly be assessing their social media to identify these views. We need to stop these people from landing in New Zealand an plying their hate trade here.” Tukaki said

“And I would ask the new Race Relations Conciliator to convene an Inquiry and National Conversation into racism in New Zealand – we need to see all the dirty washing on the table. We need to clean the house and by the way this is not freedom of speech – no one should have the right to pour hate on people of color or to ply this even trade.” Tukaki said.

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