Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has criticised the Dean of the AUT Law School after she publicly told a highly-respected King’s Counsel to “die quietly in the corner.”

Khylee Quince made the online comments toward Gary Judd KC after he lodged a complaint with the Government Regulations Review Committee regarding mandatory tikanga Māori studies for law students.

Quince wrote “I suppose it was inevitable that one of the old racist dinosaurs would make a pathetic squeal in an attempt to preserve the status quo…. Mr Judd and his “matauranga Maori is not science” friends can go die quietly in the corner.”

In a blog post, Judd responded saying “what sort of lawyers will be produced by a law faculty led by someone who resorts to petty abuse instead of engaging in rational argument? 

“Why did she not explain why tikanga is law? Why did she not explain why a body of law built up over centuries for the purpose of testing whether a custom should be accorded the status of law must be jettisoned because tikanga cannot meet those standards?

“Why did she not answer other matters raised in my complaint to the regulations review committee? Responses like those could have been expected from a person holding a privileged leadership position.”

Barrister and far left activist Max Harris defended Quince online saying she was an amazing thinker, doer, speaker and academic.

“She taught at Auckland Law School while I was there and inspired students, helped out so many in a pastoral role. Great wit & energy too. Her integrity & intelligence towers over the petty people now coming after her.”

“Tikanga is not law. It is cultural indoctrination.” – Peters

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters weighed in tonight on Twitter saying “Tikanga is not law. It is cultural indoctrination.

Peters said it highlighted “the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society.

“The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system, which does not conform with the rule of law, is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied.

“As Judd KC points out in his complaint – tikanga is not law. Law students should not be force fed this kind of woke indoctrination from some culture warrior’s slanted version of what tikanga means. What is most concerning is the Dean of the AUT Law School, Kylee Quince, funded by the taxpayer, decided to typically stoop to a gutter level and call Judd an ‘old racist dinosaur’ who should ‘die quietly in the corner’. This is from someone who is in charge of teaching our law students” Peters said.

“How has this kind of insipid, cancerous, woke indoctrination taken a hold within our education system? Judd KC pointed out what is written in law, and the ridiculous compulsion to indoctrinate students with irrelevant cultural interpretations having no reason being part of a law degree.

“Someone in Quince’s position, with this septic and out of touch modus operandi, raises the question of the proper use of taxpayer funding. She does not represent New Zealand or what we expect in our tertiary institutions.”

A New Zealand Law Society spokesman said “we are unable to comment on Khylee Quince’s statements at this stage.

“We can confirm that Khylee Quince does not hold a current practising certificate. Therefore, Khylee Quince is not a “lawyer” for the purposes of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act and no complaint about her can be made to the Law Society.

 lThe Lawyers Complaints Services only has jurisdiction over complaints about lawyers (defined by s6 LCA as a person who holds a current practising certificate), former lawyers if they engaged in conduct when they were a lawyer, or employees of legal practices” the spokesman said.

 Chris Lynch Media emailed AUT for comment at 3 p.m. on Tuesday but received no response.

A follow-up phone call was placed, and a representative from the communications department vaguely indicated that staff were “working on something.”

When asked about the timing of a statement, the communications person remained noncommittal.

At 7:40 p.m, Chris Lynch Media received an email confirming that no response would be provided that evening.

Khylee Quince has not responded.