Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission

Race Relations Commissioner, Dr. Melissa Derby, condemns recent comments made in a video by Brian Tamaki.

"I am utterly appalled by the statements made in this video against Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims in Aotearoa New Zealand, calling for violence towards these communities. This is not the kind of behaviour and rhetoric we should accept in this country, and it needs to stop.

"No individual or community here is responsible for the actions of overseas governments, groups or actors. Hindu, Sikh and Muslim New Zealanders belong here, and they have the right to live free from discrimination and harassment.

"Many religious and faith communities have shared with me their experiences of growing hatred, intolerance, abuse and harassment towards their community in recent years. The rhetoric in this video raises serious safety and wellbeing concerns for impacted communities. I am encouraged to hear that the Police are looking further into this matter and engaging directly with communities.

"Our diverse religious and faith communities have a long and rich history in this country. They have made and continue to make positive contributions to our society."

Ethnic communities condemn Brian Tamaki's inflammatory video The Federation of the Islamic Associations of New Zealand has led condemnation of Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki's call on social media to purge Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims from the country.

Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission has opposed the Disability Support Services Bill in our submission.

"Overall, the Bill creates stricter limits on supports and rights in stark contrast to its stated purpose of improving fairness.

The changes proposed by the Bill will disproportionately affect people who are experiencing significant hardship, particularly Māori, Pacific and sole parent households (and by extension women who overwhelmingly head those households)."

Our submission is available in the article below.

HRC submission on Disability Support Services Bill

Te Kāhui Tika Tangata New Zealand Human Rights Commission warns passing automated decision-making legislation under urgency puts the rights of most vulnerable at risk.

The Social Security (Modernisation) Amendment Bill broadens the use of automated decision making by the Ministry for Social Development (MSD) in relation to decisions about social assistance and benefits.

The Bill passed its third reading late last week under urgency, bypassing the select committee process - a critical step to test whether the safeguards are sufficient to protect people's rights to social security, housing, and adequate standards of living.

"New technologies offer opportunities, but they can also come with significant risks, and in this case those risks could result in people not being able to access the essential services they need to care for themselves and their whānau." - Stephen Rainbow, Chief Human Rights Commissioner.

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Commission warns passing automated decision-making legislation under urgency puts the rights of most vulnerable at risk

Te Kāhui Tika Tangata New Zealand Human Rights Commission joins with other members of Children's Convention Monitoring Group to call for strong and effective online safety law to keep our children safe - arguing an Under-16 social media ban alone will fall short.

Experts urge government to go beyond a ban to build effective online safety law for children

The Disability Support Services Bill threatens to undermine the rights of disabled people, tangata whaikaha, their families and whānau, and worsen the lives of families who are already struggling, says Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission.

Human Rights Commission calls for rights-based approach to Disability Support, condemns raft of rollbacks

Race Relations Commissioner Dr Melissa Derby spoke at the Race Unity Speech Awards national final today and reiterated the importance of the event’s theme “Whakarongo kia mārama – Listen to understand“ as a key element towards building greater understanding across our diverse communities.

Dunedin's Queen's High School student Malak Tamimi, pictured with Dr Derby, won the Tohu Eke Panuku Human Rights Commission Award for Impact for her excellent speech on what we can do to create racial harmony, drawing on her experiences from both Aotearoa and Palestine. While, Amanjot Singh from Hastings Boys High won the overall award.

Kāinga Ora ditches target to make more public homes accessible Kāinga Ora is building fewer accessible homes than it did last year after scrapping its target to have 15% of new public housing builds be accessible.