Mana News editor Joe Trinder

Yesterday I was critical of the New Zealand Police in how they arrested Diego Chavez. Today the Police deserve praise for the initiative to avoid instantly charging Maori drivers that have fines for no licence in South Auckland and it’s working.

Unfortunately this has become a prejudice debate of those with a low tolerance of Maori being mischievous on social networking and talkback.  Mike Hosking started his usual redneck rant on air this morning. “This business with Mowry’s dodging fines”.

This has nothing to do with racial privilege the system in South Auckland  is not working . Learner drivers of Maori and Pasifika descent are failing en masse at the Manukau driver testing station. The objective of Driver licencing is to ensure drivers safety on our roads and the testing station in Manukau is focused on profit margins.

The Manukau testing station is failing drivers on the smallest infringement for example the driver didn’t arrive at the test with fully licenced driver or they didn’t have their L plates on the vehicle. The testing officers are arrogantly cancelling the test before the learner driver has started the engine. These are petty failures unrelated to safety. It’s widely believed in South Auckland these unreasonable failures constitutes institutionalised racism and the system is designed to fail drivers.

Each time the driver fails the test they are charged hefty amounts to sit the test again.  After failing several times and a futile system designed to financially punish learner drivers most just give up and would prefer to take the risk. Police have realised a pattern here and have acted accordingly.

When I sat my licence I was told quickly there was a degree of discrimination at Manukau testing station so I went out of district to Mt Wellington to pass the test. This is not a figment of my imagination when every Maori and Pasifka Islander in South Auckland tells you there is a problem at Manukau testing station.