September 19, 2019
Tamihere defends seig heiling Goff
Auckland mayoralty candidate John Tamihere is standing by his use of the Nazi German phrase Seig Heil during a debate with rival Phil Goff.
Mr Tamihere was attacking the mayor's role in the decision to refuse to rent council halls for a speaking tour by two Canadian far right internet provocateurs.
He says he was using the sort of language that comes with free speech in his part of town.
He also rejects criticism from the Race Relations Office and the Jewish Council.
"The jews don't corner the market on defeating Naziism. My uncles fought for our right to defend our right back home here for freedom of speech. I'm not going to have anyone tell me that when I say seig heil to Goff in the context of him being a dictator and dictating what people can say and where they can say it, that's not a democracy. That's a totalitarian regime. That's a Hitler and everyone in my neighbourhood knows when you say seig heil to a guy you're calling him a fascist," Mr Tamihere says.
He accused Phil Goff's campaign of promoting fake news by releasing an edited clip of the debate.
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