Opposition to a proposed 50% Maori quota for AIDS Foundation board members has been cited as an example of the racism that exists in New Zealand society towards takatapui by NZAF board chair Clive Aspin. The observations were made in an academic paper entitled "The Place of Takatapui Identity Within Maori Society", authored by Aspin in his capacity as a University of Auckland researcher, and presented by him at a recent international conference on sexual identity in Mexico. Aspin writes there is evidence "that takatapui identity provides a mechanism for confronting the racism that Maori men encounter within gay communities," and refers to the new NZAF board quota proposals as efforts being "made within the gay community to bring about change that would benefit Maori stakeholders of New Zealand's community-based AIDS organization". He then goes on to quote from a discussion on GayNZ.com's message board forum about the proposals, in which disparaging comments are made about Maori Party leader Tariana Turia and activist Tame Iti. Aspin concludes that "Such comments are a salient reminder of the level of racism that exists within New Zealand society and are further reminder that the needs of Maori gay men may not be best met within mainstream organizations." However, what Aspin did not make clear was that the quote in question was from a regular user who had clearly identified himself on a number of occasions as Maori. Aspin also omitted the beginning of the user's quote from his paper, which runs: "I am insulted by the NZAF board that they could play fast with tino mana o tiriti. You lot have no business deciding how the treaty ought to be expressed. Your betters have done this in the past. I suggest you look it up and learn. Playing loose with the work of the Foundation and using it to elevate certain political aims is crass and without merit." Aspin is currently out of the country at a conference in Indonesia, and could not be reached for comment at the time of publication. GayNZ.com has asked him via email to elaborate on if and how his comment about the needs of Maori gay men possibly not being met within mainstream organisations applies to the AIDS Foundation; and to explain the apparent out-of-context usage of the alleged racist quote from the GayNZ.com message forum.