Harawira, who goes by the name Puriri and is the son of parliamentarian and activist Hone Harawira, lodged a claim with the Human Rights Review Tribunal that the New Zealand Management Academies Limited refused to enrol him in a course because of his age.
Puriri’s claim has however been thrown out by the tribunal because of the many abusive emails he sent to both counsel representing the NZMA and to registry staff at the tribunal’s offices.
“Good to know even in the Human Rights Tribunal a place that is supposed to be devoid of discrimination is just as discriminatory towards Māori…” an excerpt of one email reads.
“To the Chair, am I wasting my time even appearing seeing as you’re cherry-picking what you consider evidence. It’s a Kangaroo Court run by Racists who pick and choose what they want submitted.”
Puriri also called tribunal staff and swore at them, as well as accusing them of lacking independence as well as being discriminatory.
The tribunal can hear claims relating to breaches of the human rights, privacy and health and disability acts, referred to it by the Privacy and Human Rights Commissioners.
Puriri, now in his 50s, wanted to attend NZMA, an education provider with campuses across New Zealand offering a range of courses from cookery, finance, trades and even e-sports.
However, he claimed that the organisation refused to let him enrol in the course he wanted because of his age. It’s unclear which course he wanted to enrol in.
Puriri filed with the tribunal in February and several case conferences were held between himself and counsel for the NZMA.
Following these multiple conferences between the parties Puriri emailed abusive content to the organisation’s lawyer.
Despite multiple warnings from the tribunal to keep his communications “courteous, relevant and appropriate” Puriri persisted, and eventually escalated to threats of violence.
“I’ve dreamed about catching up with you on my terms ..It fkn Baffles me how Weasel litigation Lawyers like you think Police are some type of deterrent to people like me! It’s personal now and I hate you more than anyone in the world,” an email to the NZMA’s lawyer in September reads.
“You have the misfortune of crossing a Ngapuhi Warrior prepared to kiss his family goodbye 1 more time …Watch this Space… You WILL learn that getting a degree in this type of legal Work where you’re simply defaming victims win or not for a fkn Paycheck was the worst thing for you family your wife and your Children and I’ve always considered mentioning Children as Tapu but with you that’s now null and void.”
According to a recently released ruling, the tribunal has opted to throw out Harawira’s claim on the basis that his communication constitutes an abuse of process.
“The emails sent by Puriri over the course of this proceeding have blatantly and repeatedly breached the Tribunal’s directions and demonstrated a lack of respect and misuse of the Tribunal’s processes,” the tribunal’s ruling reads.
“The participants in this proceeding, counsel for the defendants and the Tribunal registry staff cannot be expected to continue to engage with a plaintiff who is repeatedly abusing them.”
The tribunal said that the emails had escalated to a point where they suggested violence was unacceptable and a clear abuse of process.
“Puriri’s behaviour can no longer be tolerated as it demonstrates no respect for the Tribunal, with repeated and intentional failures to comply with the Tribunal directions regarding communications and an ongoing lack of respect for the Tribunal and its processes.”
In a statement, the NZMA thanked the tribunal for running a thorough and professional process.
“We are pleased with the decision and thankful we can shift our focus back to delivering great learning experiences and outcomes for our students and staff.
“We will be making no further comment at this time”.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
