The Spinoff: West Coast newspaper faces backlash over 'racist' cartoon & More News Here

Previously revealed on The Spinoff

A cartoon revealed earlier this month within the Greymouth Star used what’s been described as a “racist caricature” to depict authorities minister Nanaia Mahuta. But the artist says it is not offensive. Stewart Sowman-Lund studies.

The Greymouth Star, a every day newspaper servicing the West Coast of the South Island, is going through condemnation after an allegedly racist cartoon revealed earlier this month resurfaced on-line.

The cartoon, dated May 1 this 12 months however shared to Twitter yesterday by left-wing commentator Clint Smith, purports to touch upon the Three Waters proposal and its surrounding debate.

While any cartoon depicting the contentious Three Waters debate is more likely to spark debate, the drawing is upsetting anger on-line each for its political commentary and its depiction of Māori.

In the cartoon, a household, clearly proven to be Pākehā, stand at one finish of the “Three Waters table”. At the opposite finish, there’s a girl with a moko kauae, ostensibly meant to symbolize native authorities minister Nanaia Mahuta.

“Do you rate payers want your water?” an individual standing in the course of the desk asks the Pākehā household.

“It’s not theirs, it’s mine,” replies Mahuta. She’s already holding on to 2 mugs labelled “water” and appears indignant.

The deliberate Three Waters reforms, wherein the Government intends to consolidate wastewater, stormwater and ingesting water below 4 umbrella entities, has proved controversial and faces staunch opposition from the National and Act events. Māori is not going to personal any water below the reforms.

Many readers didn’t establish the Māori determine within the cartoon as being Mahuta. Twitter customers had been fast to touch upon each the cartoon’s misrepresentation of the Three Waters debate and its outdated and offensively caricaturistic depiction of Māori. “I can’t believe it’s 2022 and newspapers are still printing cartoons with racist caricatures of Māori, and portraying them as greedy thieves taking from Pākehā,” wrote Smith, the unique sharer.

“Hey @GreymouthStar do you really think this is OK?” requested one other. “It’s racist. And incorrect. And really racist. And wrong.”

Toby Morris, writer of The Spinoff’s comedian internet sequence The Side Eye, mentioned every part about Healy’s illustration felt improper. “It’s outdated, racist and just plain incorrect,” he mentioned. “You have a duty as a cartoonist to give your opinion, but you’re going to make a fool of yourself if it isn’t at the least an informed opinion. The artist clearly doesn’t understand what Three Waters is actually proposing, and I suspect the editor doesn’t either.”

On Twitter, the Herald’s cartoonist Rod Emmerson equally questioned how Healy’s cartoon was revealed, and anticipated wider condemnation. “I’ll be amazed if this doesn’t end up in the jaws of the media council and [Human Rights Commission],” he mentioned. “Foundation of any political cartoon is facts – and this is factually incorrect … Plus the tone is racist.”

On being approached by The Spinoff, Meng Foon, the race relations commissioner, prevented labelling the cartoon as racist. However, he instructed The Spinoff it was “unhelpful and counterproductive” when teams of individuals had been pitted in opposition to one another. “We should all rise above the use of divisive language and steer clear of stereotypes and sentiments that negatively frame whole communities,” he mentioned.

“The addressing of historical grievances that have led to current inequities is a must and should not be feared. The building up of all people groups is a positive for Aotearoa New Zealand.”

It’s not the primary time Healy has tackled the Three Waters challenge by way of cartoons revealed within the Greymouth Star and its sister publications, the Hokitika Guadian and the West Coast Messenger, that are all owned by South Island publishing firm Allied Press. “It’s not your water, Mahuta”, mentioned one revealed within the Greymouth Star in 2021. “You may frighten the sheep, but not me.” The cartoon unflatteringly depicts Mahuta in a pool of water, surrounded by sheep. Another jokingly claims the Government additionally needs to regulate rainwater.

Healy has additionally used his cartoons to touch upon different topical points in current months. Several verge on Covid-19 misinformation, reminiscent of one additionally revealed within the Greymouth Star that labelled Covid-19 vaccination mandates as “segregation” and one other, shared on Healy’s social media, that linked the Government to the unfold of the Omicron variant.

A lot of cartoons by Healy have focused environmental points, reminiscent of SNAs, and conservation minister Eugenie Sage. One from 2020 jokes about Sage being eaten in a hāngī (within the Facebook feedback on his personal web page, Healy says she would “probably taste like an old bat”.)

These cartoons have been revealed largely with out remark. In truth, Healy’s previous work is barely now being scrutinised after Smith posted the Three Waters illustration on-line.

The Spinoff requested Healy whether or not he stood by his depiction of the Māori determine in his cartoon. “The cartoon is in no way racist or even intended to be racist,” he mentioned. “It depicts the representative of Three Waters, which happens to be [Nanaia] Mahuta.”

Healy mentioned placing Mahuta within the cartoon was correct. “If I’ve offended people who see it in a different way, I apologise.”

Newspapers in New Zealand have a protracted historical past of publishing objectionable cartoons. Stuff artist Al Nisbet, whose works typically depicted Māori and Pacific folks, was dumped by the writer in 2018. A 12 months later, the Otago Daily Times apologised after a cartoon by Garrick Tremain made mild of the Sāmoan measles epidemic.

At the time, the cartoon was broadly condemned by Tremain’s colleagues on the paper, in addition to readers. More than 130 Media Council complaints had been laid and Tremain was ditched from the publication, which is owned by Allied Press, which additionally owns the Greymouth Star.

No complaints about Healy’s publication have to date been made, the Media Council instructed The Spinoff. In a 2019 ruling, the council famous complaints in opposition to cartoons had been “rarely upheld” as they “are given a wide licence to offend”.

Neither Allied Press nor the editor of the Greymouth Star has responded to The Spinoff’s request for remark.

– The Spinoff

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