Stuff.co.nz (www.stuff.co.nz) announced on October 24 that the New Zealand-based Maori Party is being held for ransom for thousands of dollars by the owner of a Maori Party-related domain name, who has been directing web surfers to a Ku Klux Klan website. Another Maori Party domain name owned by a Christchurch man connects people to the Act Party website. If web surfers logged on to www.maoriparty.co.nz, they were automatically connected to an American KKK website, and if they tried www.maoriparty.org.nz, they were connected to Act's website. Last week the one linking to the KKK was suddenly closed.
The name www.maoriparty.co.nz was registered by Auckland man Stuart Parker, who said he had been approached by the Maori Party with an offer to buy the domain name but the party was not willing to pay the price he asked. He would not explain why he directed visitors to the KKK site, but denied he did so to pressure the Maori Party into agreeing to pay a high price for the name.
The name www.maoriparty.org.nz is owned by Christchurch man Michael Readman, and people who log on to that name are connected to Act's website. Party leader Rodney Hide said he was aware the domain name connected to Act's site, but had not tracked down who was responsible. He had met Readman once at Act's Christchurch conference, and recognized the name as that of a person who frequently posted comments on his weblog.
Tariana Turia, a spokeswoman for the Maori Party leader, said that the ability of people to buy domain names to which they had no genuine connection left bona fide organizations being held for ransom. The party tried to buy both domain names linked to the rogue sites, but the cost was prohibitive. The Maori Party's real website is at www.maoriparty.com.
