Wanganui's Jewish community have labelled embattled Labour MP John Tamihere's Holocaust outburst as "disgusting" and "unforgivable".
They are commenting on the latest revelations from Mr Tamihere's infamous Investigate interview where he said he was "sick and tired of hearing how many Jews got gassed..." during the Holocaust.
Wanganui man Ralph Holmes said
it was disappointing a high profile figure could say such things in 2005.
"We've always had our Holocaust deniers, some of whom have made their names from it?.but we don't need that sort of discriminatory comment," he said.
Mr Holmes said the "quite inappropriate throwaway line" was part of a wider article where Mr Tamihere said many foolish things.
"That sort of comment is always disgusting and is very sad. "We're very lucky in Wanganui the average person doesn't have that point of view, we very rarely run into that type of behaviour," he said.
Mrs Holmes said Mr Tamihere had done the Labour Party no favours by his comments, which included an alleged phone campaign against Helen Clark and calling woman "front-bums". "He's not doing Labour any good, he's damaged himself I think," she said.
"We all make mistakes and say things we regret but he needs to put his brain into gear before talking. You would think you would do that if you've reached his rank in society." Mr Holmes said he was not a political animal so he didn't want to suggest what sort of political future Mr Tamihere might have.
But another Wanganui person, who asked not to be named, said Mr Tamihere's comments were unforgivable. "How many chances do you give someone, he obviously has no restraint. He seems hell-bent on wrecking his career and doesn't seem to care who he offends in the process."
Mr Tamihere, a former cabinet minister, had criticised sections of society for being too politically correct, but had gone from one extreme to the other," the Wanganui woman said. "It's okay to be anti-PC, but to blatantly disregard so many feelings is rude."
Labour Party senior whip and Whanganui MP Jill Pettis said her role was to keep backbench MPs informed of what was going on.
She declined to comment on the mood of the caucus since Mr Tamihere's latest comments were made public.
"I haven't spoken with him personally," Mrs Pettis said.
