January 06, 2013
Culture OK but ethnicity no no in job search
The Race Relations Commissioner has warned Māori authorities to take care when recruiting staff.
Te Rūnanga ō Ngāti Porou has included two non-Māori in the shortlist for its new chief executive, leading Te Aitanga ā Hauiti to refuse to host last week’s Pa Wars competitions.
Joris de Bres says even ethnic organisations cannot discriminate on ethnicity, but must advertise for skills.
They can however indicate the preferred applicant will have a specific cultural background.
The Ngāti Porou job description specified that knowledge of Te Reo Māori and a strong cultural empathy for tribal structure and politics is desirable.
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