ACT Auditing “Safe Space” Policies At Universities And Polytechnics
“Today I wrote to each New Zealand university and polytechnic to determine their commitment to an inclusive education,” says ACT Tertiary Education and Skills spokesperson Dr Parmjeet Parmar.
“There is a reason the University of Auckland’s segregated study spaces have provoked such a strong reaction from New Zealanders. The signage reminds us of darker days when different races were segregated at swimming baths and barber shops.
“Modern values of inclusivity celebrate the mixing of people from different backgrounds, and we should recognise how this is crucial to closing academic and economic disparities.
It is offensive and outrageous in the extreme for ACT, NZ First and National to call Women’s Space, Queer Space, Māori Space and Pacifica Space at Auckland University ‘KKK’, ‘Separatism’ or ‘Segregation’…
Deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters says the University of Auckland’s action of having designated areas for Māori and Pasifikastudents were comparable to alt-right racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
“It is phenomenal that we not only would accept this as New Zealanders, but that some people have not learnt the lessons of our world’s history of horrors with this type of thinking,” Peters said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he hasn’t seen “the detail” of the segregated sections but at first glance, he said they looked “totally inappropriate”.
“There is no place for discrimination or segregation in New Zealand. Universities should be places of inclusion, not exclusion,” Luxon said.
Act tertiary education spokesperson Dr Parmjeet Parmar said she is contacting all the universities in the country and will be attempting to remove the “segregated” areas.
She said the signs are reminiscent of an “ugly past” that New Zealand has left behind.
She wants an explanation from Auckland University to the taxpayers who “keep their doors open”.
“It is disappointing that it even needs to be said, but Act’s position is that blocking people from spaces based on their ethnicity is unequivocally wrong,” Parmar said.
…they are competing for culture war bullshit rhetoric against spaces that have been at Auckland University for 4 decades FFS!
These spaces provide important resources for those students to access alongside support and counselling.
To denigrate these spaces on a University and threaten them is fucking fascism and the speed and ease with which this hard right racist climate denying beneficiary bashing
Government have moved to start purging those their redneck voters despise should wake every Kiwi who is disgusted by these tactics.
They are openly vandalising the egalitarian state and calling it performance art!
Women’s Space, Queer Space, Māori Space and Pacifica Space are not comparable to the KKK!
Women’s Space, Queer Space, Māori Space and Pacifica Space is not segregation!
Women’s Space, Queer Space, Māori Space and Pacifica Space is not separatism!
They are spaces that have been available to support those students at University for decades! To attack them in the manner National, ACT and NZ First have done based on nothing more than redneck anger on social media shows how far we’ve allowed the extremes of this hard right racist climate denying beneficiary bashing Government have stooped to.
This is Redneck Fuckwittery 101. We should not allow these right wing fanatics to start culture wars on our Universities!
I called that out when the Left tried to do it with Trans debates on Campus and I’m calling it out now as the Right try a far more aggressive attack.
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“Provoked such a strong reaction”. Bullshit! They have had these things forever so don’t give me some made up rubbish that NZrs are lying in bed fretting over such things. Why not mention the space for women?
Space for women is not limiting access by race. It is a safe space, and no arguments about having space for men. However, if we having space for Maori & Pacifica, then why not for Asians and whites too? Do they not need support and safe spaces? What about international students/ out of town students who leave all their support system to come to this country/University- do they not need supportive safe space either?
Just because we have being doing something for 4 decades, doesn’t mean it can’t be questioned?
Well said Benny’ racism and segregation is a two edge sword and should not be practiced by either side .
Of course it can be questioned. I am saying the hand ringing and going on about dark days is utter horseshit from a bunch of tossers who certainly aren’t motivated by supposed injustice.
Why not focus more on tax exemptions for corporations like Sanitarium or other groups that get special treatment for their religious beliefs. That’s an actual injustice.
Peters always was a dick but now his need to keep the crazy vote happy means he has to come up with increasingly outrageous stuff, referencing both Nazi and KKK in a matter of days.
Act have crawled so far up the Hobsons Pledge arse they can no longer see any of their libertarian principles.
Of course now the universities are in a real tricky situation. The womens space is, according to the clip I heard, available to people who ‘identify’ as women. What happens if a group of conservative religious women or of old school radical feminists (assuming there is such a group at university these days) want their own safe space.
Or what happens when a ‘whites only’ group wants its own space?
Aren’t you the first to scream about Women’s Space Ada?
Ada It’s not so long since notices proclaimed, “ No Irish or dogs allowed.” Could be a question of linguistics, but not that hard to see segregation at play.
Snow White, once one group has a right to exclude others based on characteristics, it’s very hard to not extend that same right to another group.
Have you never ever been to a Businessmen’s Club Ada?
No.
You need to broaden your life skills.
It should be quite obvious that Winston and Luxon’s bosses would have nothing of the sort. There’s only one group they’re working for.
I belive you are thinking of the Engineer’s Society.
FFS Ada. You know damn well ACT could not give a toss in reality. Those spaces have been around for ages and wanker Seymour only cares now?
And this ability to see into the minds of others was given to you how?
It’s called common sense. Are you suggesting you have not seen enough from the likes of Seymour and Peters to know they do things either to distract from the real stinker ( say like gloating you are putting hundreds out of work or being the very opposite of democratic with “urgency”) or to throw meat to their voting base?
ACT are dogs in the manger about everything. The most privileged people in the country busy cutting the ground from under everyone so as to maintain their privileged positions and whining about the less privileged having some small concession made, which was found necessary and very beneficial, a long time ago.
It’s all about them. The NARCISSIST Party. Oh look, that’s where the letters ACT come from I suppose……
Their pettiness goes on and on.
You could also make ISIS out of those letters. Or NARC…
Whenever I read, see or hear these kinds of debates build into foaming indignation I’m trying to remain mindful of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Pig muldoon was an expert at it, if nothing else.
If you find yourself being hunted by a pack of wolves in the wilderness, throw them a bone which is why you should always carry a bone while tramping, then while they’re distracted as they tear each other to pieces over it, make good your escape.
seymour’s a mangy little poodle who’s only talent is for barking up any tree but the correct one, as is his mentor, shrivelled ol’ fag-breath peters himself. If you really, really want to find out who’s behind the true momentum of the purchase then the sale of our AO/NZ then look to the gubbimints lobbyist donors.
Who, are they? Where, are they? Why, are they? Starting a culture war at universities is like setting a car on fire down the street to distract from burgling the supermarket up in the next block.
The national party and its sundry little minions are designing a mechanism with which to enable them to sell AO/NZ. Look at the stats? Global climate change = the Globe’s climate is changing and it’s because of us bipeds. AO/NZ = a land area about 29 thousand square kilometres larger than the UK but with a population of 5.2 million against the UK’s 66.9 million. Got an old fashioned Globe of the world? If so, have a look at where we are. We’re perfectly situated to weather out, no pun intended, the coming population shifts almost certainly in accompaniment with violence and starvation. Now write that you still think this is about we local yokels getting titchy about our widdle feelings being hurt? Or do you think it might be connected to the 7,994,800,000 others desperately needing somewhere else, anywhere else, to live. And of that vast number of 8 billion there will only be a bus load of hyper-riche who’ll get a look-in here. AI and drones will make sure of that.
Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad does it, so lets make the fuckers pay!
Don’t be fooled into undervaluing our overall position by having us fuck around with little red herrings. We all know the value and importance of Women’s Space, Queer Space, Māori Space and Pasifika Space on Auckland Uni’s or any other campus so why the sudden urgent attention to those matters when we’re in a recession as the planet burns? If it smells like bullshit, tastes like bullshit and looks like bullshit and there’s a bull standing over there with a smile on its face while holding a roll of toilet paper, then it’s probably bullshit.
Yes countryboy agree we have been left to grapple with the late Labour Government’s dereliction of duty.
Just another red-herring to distract from the main game.
Mean people just being meaner.
cb, I don’t think that busload of billionaires will want us here will they. They’ll need a few slaves but they’ll bring their own. We’ll be a nuisance.
It’s like them wanting to go to the moon. Who’s going to do all the dirty work?
It’s a shame you can’t buy brains with money isn’t it?
Dr Parmar reminds me of Margaret Thatcher. She too was a woman who climbed the ladder and gained university degree/s in science. But being born in India means knowing all about violent discrimination so she is right to be wary of that. However the university itself is an enclave for the special clever people studying, where they can exclude the hoi polloi. Let people have their meeting places with other people they understand and want to talk with and get to know.
The good Doctor has succeeded in everything she does and she and her husband have a finger in a number of pies. Please just let others find their way to their comfort zone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parmjeet_Parmar
I think that Indian people are going to take over the western world when looking at the British Parliament, shared with Pakistani with whom the Indian nation is not closely friendly.
violence/oppression on the subcontinent is between their own ethnic/caste communities….it’s comforting to blame the brits but they’ve been masters of their own fate for 70 yrs
I’m still pissed I have to wait till I’m 55 to join GreyPower for my discount card.
You’d think they’d have a youth wing.