The Chief Human Rights Commissioner has defended giving a $200 koha to the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom at a recent hui.
Paul Hunt, as well as other figures like Greens co-leader Marama Davidson, attended the meeting in early May and it emerged this week that the commissioner gave a donation.
While there have been calls for his sacking, Hunt told Newshub Nation on Saturday that he was being respectful of protocol.
"I took advice and I was advised that the appropriate thing to do is to be respectful of tikanga, of Māori protocol," Hunt said.
"To be absolutely clear, in case there's any misunderstanding anywhere, I abhor violent criminal drug-peddling gangs, wherever they come from.
"The question is, how do we deal with that issue now?
"One deal, one way of dealing with it is by looking at a very narrow lens of criminality. And has that worked? No, it hasn't. There's another way of looking at this challenge that you're referring to."
Hunt's attendance at the meeting has come under fire from both National and ACT.
"ACT’s long-held view is that the commission is a hard-left organisation masquerading as a government department and must be abolished," said ACT leader David Seymour, renewing his party's regular calls for its removal.
"It has been undermining free speech, cuddling criminals, pushing for more redistribution, and peddling countless woke issues. Time to shut it down."
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