NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Laying it out in black and Whyte

NZ Herald
6 Aug, 2014 05:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

ACT Party Leader Jamie Whyte. Photo / Dean Purcell

ACT Party Leader Jamie Whyte. Photo / Dean Purcell

Leader says Act’s stance on legal privilege enjoyed by Maori should not have surprised candidate who quit

Act leader Jamie Whyte says his speech outlining his party's opposition to the legal privilege it claims Maori enjoy should have come as no surprise to anybody, least of all Dunedin North candidate Guy McCallum, who has quit over the matter.

Mr McCallum yesterday confirmed Otago University student magazine Critic's report he had resigned from Act's board and as Dunedin North candidate over the speech and was considering resigning his membership. He also told the Herald others in the party were uncomfortable with the "one-law-for-all" policy articulated by Dr Whyte.

"Some of them are board members, some of them are younger people some are more moderate older ones. I've talked to them, I've seen them face-to-face and agreed on principles and agreed that Act needs to take a different tack on this, such as including tangata whenua in the actual discussion."

Mr McCallum said his objections were known and the board had agreed to keep the policy "on the backburner" during the election campaign, rather than promoting it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

However, he said, Dr Whyte had told him he was looking for "a stunt" to revive flagging poll results in the days before his speech and a week later "rolled out a controversial and obviously unprepared race relations policy". That surprised him as Dr Whyte had early this year said he was not interested in "Maori bashing".

He said Dr Whyte's subsequent performance in interviews, including on Maori Television's Native Affairs this week when he revealed he was unaware of the Maori Party's flagship Whanau Ora policy, "reflects the little detail or discussion that was ever gotten into about the subject".

Dr Whyte told the Herald he was "honestly bewildered" by Mr McCallum's response. "It is our policy, it has been our policy for years, the board votes on what the policy is, Guy's on the board, that happened some time ago. We sent out a press release on July 4 reiterating that's one of the policies we're going to campaign on."

The press release states: "Act believes thinking New Zealanders are concerned at the divisive effect of race-based laws. Act is going to campaign on the slogan of 'One country, one law'."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He dismissed the significance of the fact that he was unaware of Whanau Ora policy this week.

"I just had to bone up on it. It isn't really relevant which is why I wasn't briefed on it."

He did not believe Mr McCallum's views on him and the policy were widely shared by others in the party.

"Apart from Guy, there's complete unity. I've had not a single other negative comment from somebody within the party and I've had lots of positive ones."

Discover more

Kahu

Act candidate quits over speech 'stunt'

05 Aug 11:17 PM
New Zealand|politics

Cunliffe on Dotcom: 'We have nothing to do with him'

06 Aug 02:08 AM
New Zealand|politics

Labour promises $60m boost in primary health care

06 Aug 07:26 AM
Employment

Labour market unlikely to boost wages

06 Aug 05:00 PM


Jamie Whyte on race-based law
January: "[I have] no interest in Maori-bashing as a political game."
July 4: "Act believes thinking New Zealanders are concerned at the divisive effect of race-based laws. Act is going to campaign on the slogan of 'One country, one law'."
July 26: "There is no place for race in the law."
August 6: "I haven't indulged in Maori bashing."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Man charged in fatal South Auckland crash, further charges possible

01 Jul 08:10 AM
PoliticsUpdated

'Until we meet again': Hundreds gather in Taihape to mourn 'peaceful leader'

01 Jul 08:00 AM
New Zealand|crime

'I am scared of drug money': Money launderer's staff complained cash was wet, sticky

01 Jul 08:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Man charged in fatal South Auckland crash, further charges possible

Man charged in fatal South Auckland crash, further charges possible

01 Jul 08:10 AM

A 56-year-old man faces charges including dangerous driving causing death.

'Until we meet again': Hundreds gather in Taihape to mourn 'peaceful leader'

'Until we meet again': Hundreds gather in Taihape to mourn 'peaceful leader'

01 Jul 08:00 AM
'I am scared of drug money': Money launderer's staff complained cash was wet, sticky

'I am scared of drug money': Money launderer's staff complained cash was wet, sticky

01 Jul 08:00 AM
Atmospheric river to swamp parts of northern NZ, flood-hit South Island braces for fresh deluge

Atmospheric river to swamp parts of northern NZ, flood-hit South Island braces for fresh deluge

01 Jul 07:43 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP