Aids 'equality' plan slammed

A proposal to set aside half of the seats on the Aids Foundation board for Maori has been slammed as "utterly stupid" by National Party deputy leader Gerry Brownlee.

He was responding to a call from the foundation for submissions on a proposal to increase board numbers from seven to eight, and set a minimum Maori contingent of 50 per cent.

The foundation provides support for those living with HIV and Aids. The present board has four Maori members.

Maori make up about 15 per cent of the general population and of the HIV-positive community.

Foundation deputy chairman Simon Robb said regional hui would be held nationwide from July 11 seeking submissions on the proposal.

The group had "a longstanding constitutional commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi. This shows the commitment is real," he said.

Two seats would also be reserved for people who were HIV-positive.

But Mr Brownlee labelled the move utterly stupid.

"This organisation is supposed to represent and advocate for people who have an illness. It has nothing to do with race.

"This is PC gone too far. When organisations do things like this they start to dent their credibility."

Mr Robb accepted the proposal would encounter "some resistance".

It has already raised concerns from Body Positive, a peer support network for the HIV-positive.

Chairman Bruce Kilmister said he was pleased HIV-positive members would be represented on the board, but he did not believe it benefited members or those affected by the virus to have 50 per cent Maori representation.

"Equality does not mean 50 per cent, it means input to achieve equality."

He said there were growing numbers of Pacific Island and Asian people who should be recognised. Women could also be HIV-positive so there was a need to recognise gender in the board's makeup.