In an upsetting section of talkback radio, former Auckland mayor John Banks validated the views of a caller who described Māori as a “stone age people with a stone age culture”. Maori’s are ‘the tangata whenua, the indigenous people, of New Zealand. They came here more than 1000 years ago from their mythical Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki,’ as described by the NZ government on their website.
NZ Cricket have a broadcasting contract with Magic Talk, the radio station which hosted this impromptu chat between Banks and an unidentified caller. They are strongly wanting to cut ties with the company and follow suit as many other companies ended their association with the media company. Banks allowed this unidentified called to call ‘Maoris’ as ‘stone-age people’ and ‘genetically predisposed to crime, alcohol, and under-performance educationally.’ Banks did stop him midway through his conversation but not before making a racist remark himself. He said “Just a minute, your children need to get used to their stone-age culture because if their stone-age culture doesn’t change, these people will come through your bathroom window.” Listen to what exactly did he say:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Magic Radio <a >@MagicTalkRadio</a> keeping racism alive one call at a time. <a >https://t.co/O4hyl6dAgG</a> <a >pic.twitter.com/cafVTuaomh</a></p>— Rangi Kemara (@Te_Taipo) <a >January 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
New Zealand Cricket has expressed its disgust over the matter and stated that if any action is not taken they will consider ending all ties with the company.
NZ Cricket also tweeted against this incident. They wrote:
“NZC is disgusted and appalled by an indefensibly racist exchange between a talkback caller and host John Banks on Magic Talk Radio. NZC has contacted the station to both ask for an explanation and express its dismay over comments completely at odds with our values and culture. Should strong action not be taken, NZC reserves its right to review its relationship with Magic Talk.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NZC is disgusted and appalled by an indefensibly racist exchange between a talkback caller and host John Banks on MagicTalk Radio. NZC has contacted the station to both ask for an explanation and express its dismay over comments completely at odds with our values and culture. 1/2</p>— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) <a >January 27, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Should strong action not be taken NZC reserves its right to review its relationship with Magic Talk. 2/2</p>— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) <a >January 27, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This was Magic Talk’s first year with NZC as a broadcaster and perhaps the shortest of them all.