20 Sep 2018

Jan Thomas' emails on Don Brash 'really concerning'

From Morning Report, 7:18 am on 20 September 2018

The New Zealand Union of Students' Associations is outraged by recent revelations that Massey University's Vice-Chancellor threatened to cut funding to a students' association due to actions they disagreed with. Emails reveal Massey University's vice-chancellor toyed with restricting funding to its students' association as she looked for ways to stop Don Brash speaking on campus. The students' politics club invited the former Reserve Bank Governor to speak but the event was cancelled by Vice Chancellor Jan Thomas on security grounds. But emails show Ms Thomas' prime motivation was not security but her dislike of Dr Brash's views on Maori issues, which she considered racist. Speaking from China, Dr Brash said Ms Thomas had been totally misleading. The president of the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations, Jonathan Gee, talks to Guyon Espiner.