Summarised by Centrist
Fisheries Minister Shane Jones referred to High Court judge Justice Cheryl Gwyn as a “Communist Judge” during a meeting with the seafood industry about Māori rights.
A spokesperson for the PM later noted that: “It is a matter of public record that the judge once belonged to the Socialist Action League during the 1970s and 1980s.”
The meeting, held in May, involved Jones, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith, and representatives from the seafood industry, where they discussed Customary Marine Titles (CMTs) under the Marine and Coastal Area Act.
Jones’s remarks were captured in official meeting notes, where he labelled Gwyn, who has awarded CMTs to Māori, with the term.
When asked about the comment on the Tova podcast, Jones brushed it off as “political rhetoric.”
The Cabinet Manual, which sets the standards for ministerial conduct, advises ministers against making public comments that could reflect poorly on a judge’s impartiality.
The Prime Minister did not consider Jones’s comments a breach of the Cabinet Manual.
The meeting also revealed the government’s plans to amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act to make it more difficult to claim customary title.
