Race Relations Commissioner condemns racially tiered ticket pricing, rejects false claim made by group
New Zealand’s Race Relations Commissioner has condemned Brown Town’s racially tiered ticket pricing for an upcoming music event, rejecting the group’s false claim that the Human Rights Commission had cleared them of breaching the Human Rights Act.
Tickets for the event were initially sold under a three-tiered system: “Early bird (for all Tangata): $15, Tangata Moana (for our Māori and Pacific Tangata): $20, and Tangata Tiriti (for our allies): $30.”
The issue came to light after members of Christchurch’s Pasifika community contacted chrislynchmedia.com, expressing embarrassment over the pricing model, which they described as discriminatory and in breach of the Human Rights Act. The venue hosting the event also raised concerns, leading Brown Town to modify the ticket descriptions. Eventually, the venue and the group parted ways.
Brown Town, founded by Devyn Baileh, Grace Colcord, and Shea Wātene, describes itself as a platform for cultural engagement and a vehicle for addressing racism.
Following last week’s controversy, Brown Town publicly claimed on social media that the Human Rights Commission had “explicitly” informed media there was no breach of human rights laws regarding the pricing. This claim, however, was false.
A Human Rights Commission spokesperson told chrislynchmedia.com that the organisation was aware of Brown Town’s claim and intended to address the matter directly with the group. However, the spokesperson also revealed that the Commission did not want this information made public.
When asked to clarify its position, the HRC issued a general statement: “The Human Rights Commission can’t make findings or decide if the law has been breached, nor does it have an investigative function.” The same response was provided to Brown Town, but the false claim remains publicly visible on the group’s social media channels.
Meanwhile, a community newspaper sought commentary on the issue from a university academic who downplayed concerns about the pricing structure.
In her first media interview as Race Relations Commissioner, Dr. Melissa Derby firmly rejected the concept of racially tiered pricing, telling Sean Plunket on The Platform , on Wednesday morning, “Let me say unequivocally that under no circumstances would I support or condone different ticket prices for different ethnic groups, no matter how well-intentioned they may be. It’s simply not on.”
Dr. Derby also confirmed that the Commission had received multiple complaints about the issue. “People can make a complaint to the Commission, and last I heard, there were around 20 complaints on this issue alone, possibly more now. Those will be dealt with by the particular part of the Commission that addresses complaints and inquiries about human rights issues,” she said.
While clarifying that her role does not allow her to act as “judge, jury, and executioner,” Dr. Derby emphasised the importance of commenting on socially significant matters. She also highlighted the Commission’s broader focus on rebuilding public trust under its new leadership.
“We now have new leadership, and we have a full board. We’re working on our vision for the next five years, and we intend to be the Human Rights Commission for all New Zealanders, focusing on fundamental human rights that ideally improve life for everybody in this country,” she said.
Dr. Derby reiterated her broader concerns, saying, “At a higher level, the idea that people would have different ticket prices—well-intentioned or otherwise—is certainly not something that we should condone in this country.” Following the segment, Derby received praise from listeners, contradicting claims from her communications team that she was too busy to participate in an interview.
Adding to the controversy is the involvement of HRC communications team leader Leonie Kapea Hayden, who was included in all correspondence regarding the matter last week.
Hayden, a former writer for the left-leaning publication The Spinoff, has previously expressed contentious views on workplace diversity. In an opinion piece titled Why Diversity Matters, she dismissed the necessity of hiring Pākehā men, stating:
“A producer on a video production I worked on once took a similar attitude to diversity within the crew we were assembling. When we expressed a desire to hire as many people as possible who weren’t Pākehā men, she told us that we would hire ‘the most qualified person for the job,’ and it didn’t matter what their gender or background was.”
Last year, Brown Town received $35,000 from Creative New Zealand’s Creative Impact Fund (Pacific Arts) to deliver a yearlong series of free creative workshops and forums for Tangata Moana communities in Christchurch. Creative New Zealand said the grant aimed to “ensure New Zealanders participate in the arts.”
In an online statement posted last week, Brown Town addressed critics, saying:
The issue came to light after members of Christchurch’s Pasifika community contacted chrislynchmedia.com, expressing embarrassment over the pricing model, which they described as discriminatory and in breach of the Human Rights Act. The venue hosting the event also raised concerns, leading Brown Town to modify the ticket descriptions. Eventually, the venue and the group parted ways.
Brown Town, founded by Devyn Baileh, Grace Colcord, and Shea Wātene, describes itself as a platform for cultural engagement and a vehicle for addressing racism.
Following last week’s controversy, Brown Town publicly claimed on social media that the Human Rights Commission had “explicitly” informed media there was no breach of human rights laws regarding the pricing. This claim, however, was false.
A Human Rights Commission spokesperson told chrislynchmedia.com that the organisation was aware of Brown Town’s claim and intended to address the matter directly with the group. However, the spokesperson also revealed that the Commission did not want this information made public.
When asked to clarify its position, the HRC issued a general statement: “The Human Rights Commission can’t make findings or decide if the law has been breached, nor does it have an investigative function.” The same response was provided to Brown Town, but the false claim remains publicly visible on the group’s social media channels.
Meanwhile, a community newspaper sought commentary on the issue from a university academic who downplayed concerns about the pricing structure.
In her first media interview as Race Relations Commissioner, Dr. Melissa Derby firmly rejected the concept of racially tiered pricing, telling Sean Plunket on The Platform , on Wednesday morning, “Let me say unequivocally that under no circumstances would I support or condone different ticket prices for different ethnic groups, no matter how well-intentioned they may be. It’s simply not on.”
Dr. Derby also confirmed that the Commission had received multiple complaints about the issue. “People can make a complaint to the Commission, and last I heard, there were around 20 complaints on this issue alone, possibly more now. Those will be dealt with by the particular part of the Commission that addresses complaints and inquiries about human rights issues,” she said.
While clarifying that her role does not allow her to act as “judge, jury, and executioner,” Dr. Derby emphasised the importance of commenting on socially significant matters. She also highlighted the Commission’s broader focus on rebuilding public trust under its new leadership.
“We now have new leadership, and we have a full board. We’re working on our vision for the next five years, and we intend to be the Human Rights Commission for all New Zealanders, focusing on fundamental human rights that ideally improve life for everybody in this country,” she said.
Dr. Derby reiterated her broader concerns, saying, “At a higher level, the idea that people would have different ticket prices—well-intentioned or otherwise—is certainly not something that we should condone in this country.” Following the segment, Derby received praise from listeners, contradicting claims from her communications team that she was too busy to participate in an interview.
Adding to the controversy is the involvement of HRC communications team leader Leonie Kapea Hayden, who was included in all correspondence regarding the matter last week.
Hayden, a former writer for the left-leaning publication The Spinoff, has previously expressed contentious views on workplace diversity. In an opinion piece titled Why Diversity Matters, she dismissed the necessity of hiring Pākehā men, stating:
“A producer on a video production I worked on once took a similar attitude to diversity within the crew we were assembling. When we expressed a desire to hire as many people as possible who weren’t Pākehā men, she told us that we would hire ‘the most qualified person for the job,’ and it didn’t matter what their gender or background was.”
Last year, Brown Town received $35,000 from Creative New Zealand’s Creative Impact Fund (Pacific Arts) to deliver a yearlong series of free creative workshops and forums for Tangata Moana communities in Christchurch. Creative New Zealand said the grant aimed to “ensure New Zealanders participate in the arts.”
In an online statement posted last week, Brown Town addressed critics, saying:
“To those who don’t get the vibe, get a grip. The nonsense you’re spouting is nothing we haven’t heard before; you’re boring, and even worse, you are getting upset over a $30 ticket to an event that you had no intention of attending in the first place. Your attempts to tear us down and intimidate us are futile. Brown Town is brimming with proud and unapologetically brown TĀNGATA MOANA who stand on business, and we are embraced by TĀNGATA TIRITI who understand the gravity of our mahi.”
Broadcaster Chris Lynch is an award winning journalist who also produces Christchurch news and video content for domestic and international companies. This article was originally published by Chris Lynch Media and is published here with kind permission.
7 comments:
If the Human Rights Commission can’t make findings or decide if the law has been breached, surely the police can.....the question is why hasn't the HRC laid a complaint with the police to test the very laws that have been broken?
“And we are embraced by TĀNGATA TIRITI who understand the gravity of our mahi.”
You mean the false, fake fraudulent English version of the Treaty of Waitangi that was not correctly translated, or did not agree with the original Maori language version, and that was used to enact apartheid Acts and Statues into New Zealand?
That TANGATA TIRITI!
If you listen to Brown Town's music it is for the seriously intellectually infeabled. I can't imagine leaders of the Pacific communities supporting it in any way. It's disappointing but not surprisingly that Creative New Zealand spends taxpayers' money on it.
These paru racist huas at Brown Town are exactly like others of their ilk.
They are not interested in addressing any 'racism' that might exist in this country, just placing it under new management.
Theirs.
These are people who---despite their claims to being proud of being brown--actually have a chip on their shoulder about being brown in a country created and civilised by white people.
They are brown supremacist part-Maori haters and wreckers whose agenda is to beat up on white people as an outworking of their adjustment issues.
Sickening.
This reinforces my decision to remove 'donor' from my drivers license,
buggered if any of my useful bits on death, would go to a labour/green maori party person.
The ticket pricing is just a silly aberration but what a wonderful breath of fresh air in this silly country is the new RRC! three cheers.
Oh my goodness, is there anything going right in this country, there are so many things wrong with this whole story.
1. That anyone in their right mind would set up a system based on race are just sick racists who deserve the karma coming to them. But then to,
2. Lie that it was cleared by the authorities, lowers their standing even more, if that's even possible.
3. Race relations commissioner advises that she can't do anything. OK, I would get rid of her. What's the point of having a race relations commissioner if they don't hold racists to account.
4. Creative NZ are still funding these racists. Surely they must be under massive scrutiny, or should be.
5. Chris, if you published a link where we could make complaints about these racist losers , more people would do it.
6. Not that if you complained anyone would actually do anything about it, as stated if the race relations top dog won't do anything about racists, who does then for goodness sake.
7. Mr Trump, , Mr musk, where are you, we need you guys to sort this disaster racist mess of a country out.
Post a Comment
Thanks for engaging in the debate!
Because this is a public forum, we will only publish comments that are respectful and do NOT contain links to other sites. We appreciate your cooperation.