June 21, 2023
Foon wronged by rights commission says Jones
New Zealand First’s Northland candidate Shane Jones says he and leader Winston Peters stand by sacked Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon – whom they know as a man of integrity.
The reo-speaking former Gisborne mayor was made to stand down over for allegedly not declaring a conflict of interest.
Mr Jones says he’s no fan of Mr Foon’s former boss, Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt, whom he believes had a strained relationship with the former Race Relations Conciliator.
“There’s an agenda floating around there somewhere. He’s obviously fallen out with the pommy fella – and even if he finds the necessary paperwork, to assure everyone that he never hid the fact that he was a director of a company that owned motels and offered social housing – the deeper issue is that he is no longer welcome in that role,” he says.
Mr Jones doesn’t believe the matter is a closed book yet – and hopes Meng Foon can rescue his reputation.