Universities must respond to segregation accusations

Blocking access to spaces based on ethnicity has an ugly past and has no future in New Zealand. Universities owe the Kiwis who pay their bills an explanation.

Photos posted online last night show official-looking signs at the entrance to what appears to be an Auckland University study room saying ‘This is a Designated Area for Māori and Pasifika Students. Thank You’. ACT has seen similar accounts from other universities. If true, this is nothing short of segregation.

Universities must front up and be open about whether they are engaging in these practices. Kiwis pay to keep their doors open with taxes, and deserve an explanation. It is disappointing that it even needs to be said, but ACT’s position is that blocking people from spaces based on their ethnicity is unequivocally wrong.