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A ban by airlines on men sitting
next to unaccompanied children will be the subject of a dispute resolution
process by the Human Rights Commission, after it received four separate
complaints in the past 24 hours. The policy -- common to both
Qantas and Air New Zealand -- came to national attention this week when
Auckland father-of- two Mark Worsley complained that he was asked to move on
a Qantas flight when an unaccompanied child was seated next to him. The incident, which happened a
year ago, irked Mr Worsley so much that he recently contacted National
Party's spokesman on political correctness Wayne Mapp. Dr Mapp said the airlines' policy
was an example of political correctness that had got out of hand. Acting Human Rights Commissioner
Joris de Bres said the airlines could be in breach of the Human Rights Act
for unlawful discrimination. Human Rights Commission spokesman
Kallon Basham said complaints had been received from four men in the past 24
hours -- one on Tuesday and three yesterday. "While I am unable to reveal
the details of those complaints, I can confirm that we will be entering into
a dispute resolution process," he said. The commission would be contacting
the airlines concerned and the complainants shortly, he said. A specialist on boys' education
said the ban sent a signal to children and the wider community that men
"could not be trusted". Michael Irwin, a former school
principal and now senior lecturer at Massey University's College of
Education, says the policy adopted by Air New Zealand and Qantas sent a
"misleading message" that men were uncaring when it came to young
children. "It's saying to society that
it's not men's role to be involved with their children or any children and
that's ridiculous," he said. "If a child falls down and
hurts themselves. . . is a man supposed to stand around until a woman can be
found to help? "I believe it sends a signal
to children: `don't trust a man'." The director of the Centre for
Public Policy at Massey University, Stuart Birks, said the ban was "a
clear case of discrimination with no obvious rational basis". However, Air New Zealand spokesman
David Jamieson defended the airline's stance yesterday, saying the airline
had no intention of reviewing its policy, which had been in place for many
years and was in line with international best practice. |
