Minister slammed over racially tinged jokes

Maurice Williamson made jokes about Samoans and Muslims. File photo / Hawke's Bay Today

Building Minister Maurice Williamson's reported comments about racism and jokes about Muslims have caused outrage, but the Prime Minister has shrugged them off as nothing more than humour that backfired.

Last Thursday, Mr Williamson said in a speech at an awards ceremony that attitudes to foreign ownership were often linked to the ethnicity of the buyer.

"The number of New Zealanders who don't like the idea of overseas investment ... really sort of frightens me ... A lot of it's more to do with racism."

Yesterday, it was reported that at a building awards ceremony on August 20, he had asked the MC, Samoan star Oscar Kightley, if his "papers were in order". Kightley reportedly did not find the comment offensive.

Mr Williamson also made a joke referring to the case of Iranian woman Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose sentence of stoning to death for adultery has caused an international outcry.

"What is the difference between Muslims and Kiwis? Muslims get to commit adultery and get stoned, Kiwis get stoned and commit adultery," he is reported as saying.

He also used the names of Muslim denominations to make a joke about the weather: "Shiite in the morning and Sunni in the afternoon."

The comments prompted Dave Moscovitz, a member of the NZ Council of Christians and Jews, to complain to Mr Williamson.

"I was disgusted by your comments making jokes at the expense of Muslims and Pacific Islanders," he wrote in an email yesterday.

"Please explain in what way you think those comments might have been appropriate.

"As a Government minister, you should be aware that you are role-modelling behaviour for the whole country, and should be seen to be building constructive relationships between NZ's increasingly diverse ethnic and religious groups."

Uzra Balouch, writing on the Aotearoa Ethnic Network, also found the jokes offensive.

"Frankly speaking, I am disgusted and astonished that a minister of the Crown had to stoop to racial and religious jokes to appear funny.

"I love a good joke but there is a time and a place for everything. This was an awards ceremony, not a comedy-fest."

John Key downplayed the remarks yesterday, describing them as humour that had backfired.

The Prime Minister told Parliament he did not think New Zealanders with concerns about overseas ownership were racist.

He had earlier said Mr Williamson's jokes should be taken as the humour that he intended.

"In the last 12 months he's managed to cause offence to the Jews and the Arabs, so it's one-all at this stage."

In 2007, Mr Williamson was forced to apologise for an email he sent responding to a television report on obesity: "If some people can't lose weight no matter what ... how come there were no fat people in the Nazi concentration camps?"

Yesterday, Mr Williamson did not return calls, but said in Parliament, "I didn't say that", in regard to the remark about racism and overseas investment.

As Land Information Minister, he is one of two ministers who will ultimately decide the fate of the 16 Crafar farms that are being sought by the Hong Kong-listed company Natural Dairy.

Labour's overseas investment spokesman, David Parker, questioned how New Zealanders could have confidence in that process.

"How can [Mr Key] be confident when his minister has made such a silly comment?"