NOELINE HAY AGAINST RODNEY TIMES
Case Number: 2819
Council Meeting: AUGUST 2019
Decision: No Grounds to Proceed
Publication: Rodney Times
Ruling Categories:
Discrimination
Headlines and Captions
Overview
Noeline Hay has complained about a headline White women hog poll.
Rodney Times published the headline on an article about submissions received by Auckland Council in its consultation concerning banning the general public from buying and using fireworks.
An analysis of the submissions revealed that 90% of the 7997 submissions were from people of European ethnicity, and that 73% came from females.
Ms Hay objected to the use of the term white women. “Are all Europeans now referred to as white? Is this another form of racism?” she asked.
The Complaints Committee could see no breach in the use of the term “white women” and certainly doesn’t see it as invoking the gratuitous test referred to in the discrimination Principle.
Finding: No Grounds to Proceed