Taonga Ban Racist, says Howard League
The proposed taonga ban announced yesterday by Corrections is completely unacceptable says Howard League spokesperson,
Madeleine Rose. When Muslim prayer mats are allowed and Jewish Yarmulke’s allowed, to deny Maori their Taonga can only
been seen as racism.
Taonga are a fundamental part of Maori spirituality. This kind of racism must not be allowed to happen. New Zealand
prides itself on being a society that allows all religions and spirituality.
The ban is a breach of section 20 of the Bill of rights Act and Corrections must act now to stop this ban, says Rose.
Section 20 Bill of Rights
Rights of minorities
• A person who belongs to an ethnic, religious, or linguistic minority in New Zealand shall not be denied the
right, in community with other members of that minority, to enjoy the culture, to profess and practise the religion, or
to use the language, of that minority.
ENDS