Police Minister Stuart Nash took many by surprise this week, stating it was his personal belief that there is no systemic racism in New Zealand Police.
Nash's statement appears to fly in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary, including a recent study which found police are almost twice as likely to send a first-time Māori offender to court than they are a Pākehā offender.
Among those who disagree with the Police Minister's comments are his colleague, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis.
"There is racism throughout New Zealand and I think all of us would be naive to claim there isn't".
Nash's office declined an interview request from The Hui, but presenter Mihingarangi Forbes went to Parliament and approached the minister directly about his statement. Nash continued to state that systemic racism isn't a problem in NZ Police.
"I do not think there is systemic racism in the service and if there is, if the commissioner finds instances where there is racism I expect that to be dealt with swiftly and clearly."
Watch the full interview.
