NZ Prime Minister makes joke implying indigenous group are cannibals

New Zealand prime minister John Key has been criticised for a joke he made implying that Tuhoe, a Maori iwi (tribe) in the north east of New Zealand, were cannibals. Speaking to an audience of tourism professionals about the governments new tourism package, Key began his speech with a quip about having dinner with representatives of another iwi; “The good news was that I was having dinner with Ngati Porou as opposed to their neighbouring iwi, which is Tuhoe, in which case I would have been the dinner.” Earlier this week Key announced Tuhoe would not be given ownership of Te Urewera national park, the subject of ongoing negotiations.

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Possibly his words were not meant literally, a metaphor similar to saying that Key was “grilled” by an interviewer. That possibility aside, the joke was in extremely bad taste. Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell, whose Waiariki electorate includes Tuhoe's tribal area, told Radio NZ the joke was “unfortunate” while Tuhoe chief negotiator Tamati Kruger said that the joke in poor taste and unbecoming of a prime minister. Key has since made an apology which Vanity Fair called 'passive-aggressive'; "Ahh look, it was a light-hearted joke, a bit of self-deprecating humour, but if anyone is offended, then I deeply apologise."

While Stuff.co.nz used the phrase “frenzy of outrage” to describe the reaction to Key's comments, the response has been nothing compared to the furor over comments made by Maori Party MP Hone Harawira last year, which were quickly labeled 'racist' by the media and led to a record number of complaints to the race relations commissioner. At the time Key called Harawira's comments “outrageous” and “deeply offensive”. The different reactions to these situations say something profound about race relations in New Zealand.