DON BRASH: Letter sent to the Vice Chancellor AUT
- Don Brash
- May 8, 2024
- 2 min read
The following was written on behalf of Hobson's Pledge:
Dear Vice Chancellor Damon Salesa,
We are a group of New Zealanders whose primary objective is to fight for equality under the law and advance the vision Governor William Hobson expressed at Waitangi in 1840.
He is said to have spoken the following words to each of the chiefs after they took their turn signing the Treaty:
He Iwi Tahi Tātou / We are now one people
Given our goal to see a unified New Zealand, it was with dismay that I read the comments of Auckland University of Technology’s Dean of Law Khylee Quince about Gary Judd KC. Calling him a “racist dinosaur” and saying he can “go die quietly in the corner” is juvenile and abusive.
Mr Judd has had a career of nearly 30 years appearing many times in front of the Supreme Court and the Privy Council. He is entitled to, at the very least, collegial respect from Dean Quince even if she disagrees with his stance on tikanga’s role in law.
The law by nature is adversarial, pitting people, ideas, and legislation against each other. That is why a standard of behaviour and the tacit agreement to “play the ball, not the man” is so crucial to the practice. Expectations of how lawyers should handle themselves are written in legislation, by the Law Society, and informally in every chambers in the country. Dean Quince has fallen well short of all these standards.
In a role such as the Dean of Law, Khylee Quince has the additional burden of role-modelling to the nation’s future lawyers. This is why her comments are of such great concern to Hobson’s Pledge supporters. New Zealand is currently finding its way through challenging discussions about race relations, tikanga, and the role of the Treaty. Rather than fuelling the fires of division, our leaders, including legal and academic leaders, should be facilitating respectful and productive discussions. It is unacceptable that a Dean of Law would be contributing to the toxicity instead.
The purpose of this letter is to urge you to remind Dean Quince of her obligations and the privileged position she is in. But most importantly, I ask you to make a public statement affirming that AUT’s Law School does not take political positions relating to race, but rather it teaches the law that pertains to the matters. Making it clear that Dean Quince does not speak for the University and that her remarks were inappropriate and unacceptable for someone in her position is critical to present and future law students and the confidence they can have in their education at AUT.
The matter of the role of tikanga in law is an active debate and no one should be discouraged from engaging in it. Dean Quince’s comments, given her position, will likely have a chilling effect, dissuading any student for questioning or arguing a position different to her own.
All the best,
Don Brash
Is a New Zealand Samoan VC likely to publicly rein in a Maori female head of a school or department? If Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa (whose wife is a Labour MP) takes any action against Ms Quince it will most probably be behind closed doors.
I won't put up with a comment that tells people to just piss off and die in a corner, that are taxpayer funded, simply because their ideaolgy trumps real learning.
Fuck me,,I'm a tradesman , I'm as hard as they come, but to say that to another human being because your veiws differ is beyond redemption and utterly reprehensible,,and that rankles with me.
It is simply not good enough that institutions of higher education indulge in and placate this abhorrent and racist rhetoric . And we pay for this. Never forget it. This open Ridden hatred at every turn is broadcasted as newsworthy and as a good thing by the second parasitic organisim. The main stream media.
it is tim…
Well at least in the US two out spoken Deans of major Universities had to resign after such comments . But as I've seen for too long there is ZERO accountability in academia, the government or any of its institutions . So Don who should be held accountable the people for allowing this tripe to carry on or the government . And when the Liberals promote "HATE SPEECH" laws against Conservatives or moderates , just look who is using the RACIEST card ?
Hey Don, there are more and more instances of the above mentioned happening all around us and NO-ONE is doing a thing about combating the very obvious racism and imbalance of democracy....
For instance, Te Pati Maori MP stood in parliament recently and declared that the government is trying to exterminate Maori......why wasn't she made to withdraw the comment.....
There is definitely increased pressure from some Maori, within academia and government to push for more and more power and control.....
How about adding that Dean quince is not a person who should hold any position in the NZ education system and to show good example to others who share her views by sacking her. In my long life's experiences, many people don't change their views no matter how long they live.