A blog post that used a picture of a kapa haka group and called Maori culture "primitive" shows a narrow-minded and ignorant world view, the kapa haka group's leader says.
Treaty Gate blogger John Ansell posted the image of Rotorua kapa haka group Te Maataarae i Oorehu , together with a caption calling Maori culture "primitive".
Ansell was the marketing manager behind the National Party's "Iwi vs Kiwi" election campaign billboard in 2005.
The kapa haka post said primitivism "represents an early phase of human development, long before mankind had achieved civilisation. Primitivism is not preferable to civilisation ... Civilisation has elevated our minds and refined our nature; primitivism bears the stamp of our lowly origins."
Ansell could not be reached by the Herald today but told Maori TV's Te Kaea news programme yesterday he was sorry if he had caused offence, and that the post was criticism rather than racism. The post has now been taken down but not before it was shared widely on social media.