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Protesters slam TVNZ as racist

Protesters vented their anger at TVNZ and the Government at a rally outside parliament this afternoon, though there was a sense of victory after the object of their protest -- Paul Henry -- announced his resignation from the state-owned broadcaster yester

NZPA
Mon, 11 Oct 2010

Protesters vented their anger at TVNZ and the Government at a rally outside parliament this afternoon, though there was a sense of victory after the object of their protest -- Paul Henry -- announced his resignation from the state-owned broadcaster yesterday.

Signs and placards, presumably made prior to the resignation announcement, were plastered with messages calling for Henry to be sacked by TVNZ.

The protest was organised by Wellington law students Narita Chandra and Niki Singh after Henry insulted the Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand, during an interview with Prime Minister John Key on Breakfast last Monday.

The insult followed previous derogatory comments Henry made about an Indian minister, and the resulting diplomatic storm.

The protest went ahead to highlight the problem of racism in the country, protesters said.

Speaking at the rally, Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty said the broadcaster had been "chasing money in hate speech" for too long.

"They are making money out of other people's pain and humiliation," she said.

However, Ms Delahunty acknowledged that the problem was bigger than TVNZ.

"(In) This country people are very confused because we have hidden racism for too long and it has always been with us."

Wellington central MP Grant Robertson, who also spoke at the protest, told NZPA he did not feel that Mr Key had adequately explained his role in the incident.

"He laughed and giggled along to something that was an offensive remark and he needs to be more upfront about what an appalling comment it was."

Mr Key told Newstalk ZB this morning that he handled the first couple of questions Henry put to him about the governor-general by explaining that all governors-general were New Zealand-born.

"But when he got to the third question there was a part of me that was actually a bit taken aback with what he was actually meaning there, and with Paul sometimes you never really know, so quite frankly I brushed over it. That's just the nature of that kind of interview with him sometimes."

Meanwhile, Green Party broadcasting spokesperson Sue Kedgley called for TVNZ to use its outgoing Charter as a guide in its review of its news and current affairs editorial policies.

TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis has requested a review of the policies in the wake of Henry's comments and the week of negative publicity that followed.

Ms Kedgley said New Zealanders expected the state-owned broadcaster to be proved impartial, responsible broadcasting.

"The Paul Henry debacle has undermined the credibility of TVNZ, and exposed the folly of requiring the state broadcaster to abandon its public service mandate, to focus on chasing ratings."

TVNZ was required to be publicly accountable for its actions, whether it liked it or not, she said.

NZPA
Mon, 11 Oct 2010
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Protesters slam TVNZ as racist
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