Kate Hawkesby made the comments when she hosted a show on Newstalk ZB (file photo). Photo: NZME
A complaint against radio host Kate Hawkesby over comments suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery because of their ethnicity has been upheld by the Broadcasting Standard Authority.
The comments were made in June last year in relation to Health New Zealand's Equity Adjustor Score, a system using five categories for placement on the non-urgent surgical waitlist in Auckland.
Categories include clinical priority, time spent waiting, location, deprivation level and ethnicity.
The Broadcasting Standard Authority (BSA) said Hawkesby's statements were misleading, implying Māori and Pacific people were being "moved to the top of surgery waitlists" and gave the impression ethnicity was the key factor in getting a spot on the waitlist.
It found her comments breached its discrimination and denigration standard by reinforcing negative stereotypes.
"Hawkesby's comments played into the stereotype that Māori and Pacific peoples disproportionately take up resources and are given undeserved special treatment in Aotearoa New Zealand's society, at the expense of other ethnicities. While not said explicitly, in our view, the exaggerated and misleading nature of Hawkesby's comments had the effect of evoking this type of prejudicial bias.
"The conduct was serious, featuring repeated and sustained inaccurate descriptions of the Equity Adjustor Score over the course of a one hour broadcast, which in turn had the effect of embedding negative stereotypes about Māori and Pacific peoples. This was despite accurate information being to hand."
The high level of public interest and controversy around the score's introduction meant reporting the subject accurately was important, the BSA said.
"The broadcaster chose to frame an important news story in a misleading and inflammatory manner. The framing of the issue created an environment where potentially harmful comments from the audience were foreseeable, and the broadcaster chose to read many such comments out on air.
"As a result, the broadcast had the potential to cause serious harm, both to Māori and Pacific peoples - minority groups which already experience significant disadvantages in our community - as well as the audience more generally."
The authority has ordered NZME air a statement summarising the decision and to pay a fine of $1500 to the Crown.
