'Don't you think it was a little unfair attacking all Maori over the actions by four idiots?' - The words which Louis Rawnsley says cost him his job

'Don't you think it was a little unfair attacking all Maori over the actions by four idiots?' - The words which Louis Rawnsley says cost him his job

More than 150 Television New Zealand staff have signed a petition supporting a security guard who has been sacked for telling child safety campaigner Christine Rankin that her comments about Maori child abuse were "over the top".

Louis Rawnsley, 58, who has worked for TVNZ for 24 years, called Mrs Rankin over to the security desk as she left after appearing on the breakfast show on July 30 and told her what he thought of her comments about the four Maori men and one woman charged with abusing 3-year-old Nia Glassie.

"What I actually said was, 'That was a bit over the top, wasn't it?' " he said yesterday. "She responded pretty much with what she had been saying on the programme, which was, 'No, not at all. They [Maori] only make up 15 per cent of the population but account for half of the child abuse'.

"My response was, 'Don't you think it was a little unfair attacking all Maori over the actions by four idiots?' "

TVNZ spokesperson Megan Richards said Mr Rawnsley was sacked because what he said to Mrs Rankin was "verbal abuse".

"This was a very visible and aggressive challenge and completely inappropriate from any staff member," she said.

But Mr Rawnsley's union, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, has asked for urgent mediation on the matter and TVNZ staff sources said the whole newsroom was "furious".

More than 150 staff have signed a petition asking TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis to reinstate Mr Rawnsley.

Mr Rawnsley said his phone "hasn't stopped ringing" with calls of support from TVNZ workers, including a call from Close Up presenter Mark Sainsbury.

Mr Rawnsley's career at TVNZ dates back to before it moved into its present headquarters and he is on first-name terms with many regular guests on its programmes.

"I get on very well with a lot of them - Willie Jackson, Pita Sharples, they often come over and talk to me," he said. "I have always felt really free about being able to talk to guests, all sorts of people."

Mr Rawnsley is not Maori but he has collected 30 boxes of files on Maori history and culture since researching his English great-grandfather's work with Maori in the kauri timber business in Northland.

"That rolled over into researching Maori and Polynesian origins, which I have done for about 25 years," he said.