Sir Bob Jones facing backlash
TENS of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for the Prime Minister to strip Sir Bob Jones of his knighthood.
Acclaimed film-maker Renae Maihi started the change.org petition on Thursday morning. ‘‘There is public support for this, somebody can’t get away with hate speech like that and not be held to account,’’ she said.
Maihi is upset by what Jones wrote in his regular National Business Review column last week, under the title ‘‘Time for a Troll’’. He said a new public holiday should be introduced called Ma¯ori Gratitude Day instead of Waitangi Day.
‘‘I have in mind a public holiday where Maoris bring us breakfast in bed or weed our gardens, wash & polish our cars & so on, out of gratitude for existing.’’ Jones also commented on children, blood quantum and suicide.
‘‘I think he went beyond trolling, it’s hate speech,’’ said Maihi, adding that she supported freedom of speech but Jones, who has a history of stating controversial opinions publicly, went too far this time.
‘‘When something like this comes out I think it’s important we stand our ground, to say actually that’s not okay and we don’t accept this type of racist rant as a reflection of who we are as a country.’’
Jones was a regular National Business Review commentator. Although the column was printed in the NBR’s weekly publication, the opinion piece was removed from its paid content website. In an email, NBR Editor Duncan Bridgeman declined to comment and Jones did not reply to repeated requests for an interview.