The Race Relations Commissioner says it's "unfortunate" a Kiwi Facebook page with a huge following made a post criticising the Treaty of Waitangi and taking aim at the media for using Te Reo and covering Māori issues.
The post, which was shared to NZ Farming on Monday morning by founder Tyler Fifield, was later deleted following a backlash from some of its 216,000 followers.
But Meng Foon says it's the latest instance "of divisive and harmful painting of Te Tiriti" doing damage to Aotearoa's move towards a "more inclusive and cohesive society".
Fifield on Monday claimed New Zealand's news outlets had "suddenly gone crazy on Māori language and other Māori issues" for money - "your money, given to them by Ardern".
"Most shockingly, it's all part of Labour's nefarious plan to install a part-Māori 'partnership' government as indicated by the recently revealed He Puapua document," he wrote.
"In order to qualify for these government grants (Labour's rescue package) media have to jump through hoops, and one of those hoops is embracing the ideology of the radical part-Maori separatists who make up a large part of the Labour government."
Later in the post, Fifield wrote that the media was perpetuating "propaganda identifying the Treaty of Waitangi as the basis for a 'partnership'" - something he believes to be "a total deception".
The post finished with a meme taking aim at the Labour Government's attempts to fix the housing crisis.
A long-time follower of the page who wished to remain anonymous told Newshub the "anti-Māori rhetoric" ignored indigenous members of the group and left fellow followers disgusted.
They said it's "not the first racist or political rant" from administrators of the page, who have strayed increasingly from farming topics into anti-Labour and conspiracy theory territory.
Race Relations Commissioner says despite what the post says, Te Tiriti is quite clearly a mandate for partnership between indigenous Māori and Pākehā.
"Māori entered a partnership with the Crown through the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, affirming the right of tangata whenua to exercise their tino rangatiratanga in all decision-making processes," Foon told Newshub.
"Te Tiriti o Waitangi embodies human rights commitments the Government has towards Māori and also provides a place for non-Māori to co-exist in Aotearoa."
Foon says the post reinforces calls for Te Tiriti to be honoured through its teaching in schools - a move he believes will "help avoid such misunderstandings in the future".
"It's unfortunate to see a social media page slam what fundamentally forms a pivotal cornerstone for a brighter future in New Zealand for all," he said.
"We should not and cannot fear this positive future. Of late there have been a few instances of divisive and harmful painting of Te Tiriti which does not help the move towards a more inclusive and cohesive society.
"My door is always open for these discussions around such matters as they are important."
In response to enquiries by Newshub, NZ Farming spokesperson Duncan Humm said the post was made by founder Tyler Fifield and "not supported by the rest of the team at all".
Humm says he deleted the post himself after it was brought to his attention.
"It does not represent the views of the brand or other team behind NZ Farming, or in general the views of the farming community we are responsible for curating content for," he told Newshub.
The post is the latest in a string of allegations of racism against Māori in recent times.
National Party leader Judith Collins has recently been accused of race-baiting for using terms such as segregation and racist separatism to describe the new proposed Māori Health Authority.
Meanwhile the owner of a Canterbury brewery faced backlash earlier this month after calling Māori the "scourge of New Zealand" and appearing to call for their mass imprisonment.
