Club becomes a secret society

A member of the male-only, and now secret, Nelson Club has kept his membership, after he was accused of stating that Muslims were rapists and were coming to ‘‘take over New Zealand’’.

The club held a special general meeting on Friday, at which the member was censured and announced his voluntary resignation from the club’s committee, but retained his membership.

This has drawn criticism from the Ma¯ori Council, which says ‘‘old, exclusive little men’s clubs’’ have to go.

The accused member was alleged to have claimed there was scientific evidence that ‘‘blacks have a lower IQ than whites’’, that homosexuals have a ‘‘sickness’’, and that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is a communist – and that if she were re-elected, he would potentially move back to Britain.

Stuff has seen an email from the club’s lawyer, sent to another member prior to the meeting, which appeared to support the statement about racial-based IQ.

Ma¯ ori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki said it was time to call out racism.

‘‘These old, exclusive little men’s clubs need to go. A message should be sent that New Zealanders will not put up with this.’’

Racism behind closed doors could have a strong impact, he said.

It has also been reported that a proposed motion at the meeting, which broadened the definition of misconduct within the club to include hate speech, was not allowed to be moved or voted on, and was ruled ‘‘out of order’’.

The member at the centre of the meeting was alleged to have made comments at a Christmas function last year that ‘‘all Muslims will rape our wives and daughters and they are coming to take over New Zealand’’.

A complaint against him was lodged by a member some months later, following the Christchurch attacks.

The accused member has said the comments were made as part of an alcohol-fuelled discussion where he and the complainant were baiting each other. He said that while he did have ‘‘strong beliefs’’, he was not a white supremacist.

An earlier hearing in May saw the complaint unanimously dismissed by the committee, but it was brought back to the table following a number of concerned emails and discussion within the club membership.

The Nelson Club leadership has released a statement confirming that the club met on Friday to ‘‘examine a complaint’’ from a member over statements made that promoted ‘‘a particular ideological position that was not in keeping with the club’s and broader community’s values’’.

The statement said that while the circumstances that led to the situation were significant, credit was given for the member’s ‘‘heartfelt apology, his loss of status within the club community, and his preparedness to resign from the club if this was requested by the attending members’’.

Club president Scott Dodd said it had learned a lot from the experience, and long-standing members who had resigned over how they felt the matter had been handled had been invited to rejoin ‘‘without prejudice or preconditions’’.

‘‘Given the current environment, organisations and their members have to be cognisant of community values and show restraint when expressing strong opinions.’’

The club has passed a rule which bans members from speaking to those outside the club about the organisation.

However, a member who wished to remain anonymous said Friday’s meeting was a ‘‘beautifully stage-managed farce’’.

‘‘I heard no apology from [the member] – but I did hear him and others advocate for his racial views,’’ the member said.

‘‘I saw no expression that intolerance and bigotry had no place in the club, and I saw no real expression that members have to be cognisant of community values.

‘‘I also saw a refusal to ban hate speech within the club’s premises.’’