Greens call for Henry to be sacked

BY MARTIN KAY

LATEST: The Green Party has stepped up political pressure for Paul Henry to be sacked, with co-leader Russel Norman saying his "shock jock" style and history of offensive comments meant he was not suited to the job.

Henry's ethnic slur against Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand will cost him at least $8000 after he was suspended without pay for two weeks.

The Greens called for Henry's sacking this morning.

"TVNZ need to think about whether someone with Mr Henry's track record should be fronting their morning current affairs show," Mr Norman said.

"TVNZ need to think about whether their show really is news and current affairs or some sort of weird hybrid shock-jock format."

Greens broadcasting spokeswoman Sue Kedgley said Henry's comments about Sir Anand were "racist and bigoted" and claimed they breached parts of TVNZ's Charter.

She said the Charter required TVNZ to "promote understanding of the diversity of cultures making up the New Zealand population". It was also required to feature programmes that contributed towards "cultural development, and promote informed and many-sided debate, and stimulate critical thought".

"Given the seriousness of the breaches, the penalty of taking Mr Henry off air for two weeks seems inadequate," Ms Kedgley said.

The Fijian-Indian community said Television New Zealand's suspension of Paul Henry was a "token" punishment and he needed counselling.

President of the Fijian-Indian Association in Wellington, Vinod Kumar, told Radio New Zealand that Henry was a repeat offender and the community was worried about what offence he would cause next.

Mr Kumar wanted Henry to undergo counselling, or be put on notice by TVNZ to avoid further incidents.

"The punishment that has been handed down does not fit the crime," he told Radio New Zealand.

"Is there going to be any form of reprimand? Is he going to be put on notice? Is there any form of counselling that his employers need him to undertake so that, seeing that he is a repeat offender of this nature, will not be repeated?"

After more than a day of appearing to back Henry's suggestion that the Auckland-born-and-raised Sir Anand did not look or sound like a New Zealander, TVNZ drew a line in the sand as more than 600 complaints flooded in.

Chief executive Rick Ellis said Henry – who apologised to Sir Anand in a statement on Monday and again on Breakfast yesterday – had crossed the line of acceptability and would be suspended until October 18.

"I have met with Paul and told him that, while his apologies were the right thing to do and that I believe he is sincere in his regret, I still consider his remarks unacceptable for any employee of TVNZ to make.

"He often pushes the boundaries and that's important in a country that values freedom of speech. But I consider his latest remarks to have well and truly crossed that line."

Henry yesterday lost his cool at New Zealand Herald journalists who approached him at his North Shore home.

Minutes after declining to talk, he drove to where the journalists were parked in their car and verbally abused them.

"Get off my f---g land," he yelled. "If any photos are published I'll sue the f---g paper."

Industry observers said Henry was likely to be one of 11 TVNZ staff paid more than $300,000 a year, meaning the two-week suspension without pay would cost him at least $8000 from his annual after-tax salary.

A TVNZ spokeswoman said extra staff could be assigned to deal with the flood of complaints about Henry's comments, which were made during his regular weekly interview with Prime Minister John Key on Monday.

Henry asked Mr Key whether the next governor-general would be someone who "looks and sounds like a New Zealander this time", an apparent reference to Sir Anand's Fiji-Indian heritage.

The number of complaints is thought to be the highest received by TVNZ on a single matter. A noisy protest was held outside TVNZ's Auckland headquarters last night and a smaller band of protesters gathered outside the network's Wellington offices in Lambton Quay.

Mr Ellis' actions yesterday were in contrast to TVNZ's reaction on Monday, when it said Henry was known for saying things that everyone thought but was too scared to say.

A spokeswoman said there had been no pressure from Breakfast advertisers for Henry to be disciplined, and Henry had not been ordered to apologise.

Mr Key said it had been up to TVNZ to decide whether to discipline Henry, and the suspension was the correct course.

"They've sent a message ... they expect Paul Henry to be controversial, but there's obviously a line, and he's over that line."

Green Party human rights spokesman Keith Locke said Henry's on-air apology did not go far enough as it did not recognise the offence caused to hundreds of thousands of Kiwis who were not Maori or European.

Paul Henry's Full Statement

I have something very important to say this morning.

Yesterday, a lot of people got very upset about a comment that I made regarding the governor-general when I was talking with the prime minister. You may have seen it.

I'd like you all to know that I have the greatest respect for Sir Anand Satyanand. I don't know him personally, but I understand his reputation is beyond reproach. He is highly respected in both judicial circles as a former judge and as the Queen's representative here in New Zealand. He's done a very fine job as governor-general and I am sincerely sorry if I seemed disrespectful to him.

That was not what I intended and I certainly didn't intend to sound racist. It was wrong of me to ask the questions that I did.

Sir Anand was born in New Zealand. His lineage, as far as I can ascertain, is far more dignified than mine, which makes him a better candidate for governor-general than me.

Most people think I'm British, but the truth is much, much worse than that.

Like the governor-general, I was born in New Zealand. However, I'm at least half what they colloquially call in Europe a gippo.

So, let me make it quite clear. I will never apologise for causing outrage. However, I will and do apologise sincerely for causing real hurt and upset to anyone, no matter what their background, who works to make this country a better country.

So in that spirit, I apologise unreservedly to Sir Anand and his family. He's a very distinguished man. I am a gippo television presenter.

* Watch the incident below:

- © Fairfax NZ News