[youtube]I_1tDqw-RbU&feature=channel[/youtube] Key on Paul Henry Comments Well known broadcaster Paul Henry has been suspended for 2 weeks without pay after making controversial comments about the NZ Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand.
The controversy started when TVNZ Breakfast show host Paul Henry was questioning Prime Minister John Key about the next Governor-General, since Sir Anand Satyanand’s term finishes in the middle of next year.
According to the New Zealand Herald, Mr. Henry asked Prime Minister John Key, “Is he even a New Zealander?” to which the Prime Minister replied, “Yes, he is a New Zealander.”
Mr. Henry went on to ask, “Are you going to choose a New Zealander who looks and sounds like a New Zealander this time ….., this time?”
Prime Minister Key then pointed out that every Governor-General since Sir Arthur Porritt was appointed in 1967 has been a New Zealander, said the Herald.
Mr. Henry apologised on the Breakfast show the next morning, saying, "I certainly didn't intend to sound racist. It was wrong for me to ask the questions that I did.”
TVNZ reported that Henry's comments brought a record 600 complaints against the state broadcaster and made headline news in India.
Unite Union and Global Peace and Justice Auckland (GPJA) demanded in a media release that Henry be sacked.
Unite Union National Director Mike Treen said, "Paul Henry legitimizes racism and bigotry in the workplace.
"He has abused women, people of colour, gay people, people with disabilities and all migrant Kiwis who don’t look like him," said GPJA Spokesperson John Henry.
Meanwhile the subject of Mr Henry's comments and the outcome has been a hot topic on talkback radio with a strong response both from supporters and detractors of the broadcaster ringing in.
