Record-keepers at Parliament seemingly classified a public petition calling for the removal of all Muslims from New Zealand as "serious in intent" and allowed it to go live on the official website for more than two months.
The petition was taken down on March 5, 2024, and though it was initially unclear why it was removed, the Office of the Clerk told The Indian Weekender on Wednesday the petitioner had chosen to withdraw the petition.
Titled 'Petition of Michael Anstis: Remove all Muslims from New Zealand', the petition was started on December 4, 2023, and had garnered 125 signatures till March 4, sparking outrage among Kiwi-Muslims, who are questioning why it was allowed to be published online.
Screengrab of the online petition on NZ Parliament's website
David Wilson, Clerk of the House, said in an email reply, "Office of the Clerk works with petitioners to ensure their petitions comply with Standing Orders. Our role is to facilitate access to Parliament, not to pass judgment on the content of a petition."
Wilson said Office of the Clerk moderates all petitions before they are cleared to be published on the Parliament website. Among the several criteria a petition must meet to qualify for publishing is one that requires petitions to be serious in intent, Wilson said.
When asked if this particular petition met all the criteria, Wilson said, "All of the criteria had been met for the petition in question. I acknowledge that the request and the reasons for it expressed by the petitioner would be objectionable to many New Zealanders.
"However, petitioners are entitled to their own views and to raise those views with their elected representatives. It is not the role of my office to prevent them doing so, provided the petition complies with Standing Orders.”
Tayyaba Khan, leader of the Khadija Leadership Network, has emphasised the urgency of addressing this issue. "I think it's fair to say that, overall, people are very, very scared - we're not living in an environment where you can feel safe," she told Newshub.
Screengrab of the online petition on NZ Parliament's website
Khan stressed its presence had instilled fear within the Muslim community, especially given the current volatile geopolitical climate. "You've got Palestine, you've got Afghanistan, you've got Iraq, you've got what's happening in China - there is lots of interconnection in terms of what's happening for Muslims globally," she explained.
"Then you have a petition like this in a faraway place like New Zealand, which, for a very long time, we thought was a haven and nothing like the Christchurch terror attacks would happen here - and they did. So, you can imagine, there is fear there", Newshub reported.
Khan highlighted the genuine fear that the petition has provoked among people. "There is a culture here in New Zealand about, 'Oh, let's not give this too much air - I mean if it's just sitting there, nobody knows about then it'll be fine.' But look, when the Christchurch terror attacks happened, nobody knew about it, and it wasn't fine. Can we take these things lightly? I don't think so."
She emphasised the significant concern for people's safety, particularly in light of such petitions. "This petition clearly incites hatred," she added.
These concerns have arisen just over a week before the fifth anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks, in which a white supremacist targeted two mosques, resulting in the deaths of 51 Muslims.
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Also Read: https://www.indianweekender.co.nz/columns/seriously-anti-muslim-petition-serious-enough-for-parliament-website ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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