Brisbane pub accused of refusing entry to Maori woman over face markings


A Maori woman has vowed to take a Brisbane pub to the human rights watchdog after she claimed they were racist by refusing her entry due to her facial cultural symbols.

Juanita McNamara claims she was denied entry into popular Irish pub Finn McCool’s on Sunday night because of what they called “facial tattoos”, which security guards said were against their rules.

The pub has since apologised over the incident.

In a public Facebook post condemning the security guards, Ms McNamara wrote: “Tonight I was denied entry into Finn McCool’s, Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, because of my ‘facial tattoos’.

“I am a Maori woman with a moko kauae on my chin, that is considered a toanga (a treasure, not a tattoo), representing my identity as a Maori woman. And ta moko on my neck, which represents my mother and sister.

“The security tried to tell me my Maori culture, my chin is a ‘tattoo’ … They have no right to do so, and fail to realise my tattoos are cultural.”

Making matters worse, Ms McNamara said one security guard who refused her entry, despite her efforts to educate them, said she was a Maori woman herself.

In her Facebook post, which attracted more than 50 comments that mostly expressed outrage, Ms McNamara said Finn McCool’s’ rules breached the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991.

“Not only is it disappointing that I have to point out my rights, legislation and education, but that this venue and their security have no idea of the law,” she wrote.

“Are we living in slave time penal colony Australia again?”

In a statement to news.com.au, a spokeswoman for Finn McCool’s said the venue had reached out to Ms McNamara and was updating its entry policy.

“Finn McCool’s Fortitude Valley has reached out to Juanita McNamara to apologise for her experience at the venue on Saturday night,” the statement said.

“Finn McCool’s Fortitude Valley has been reviewing its entry policy following extensive consultation and collaboration with key stakeholders over the past few months. Finn McCool’s Fortitude Valley is currently in the process of updating its venue entry policy to reflect and endorse the business’ commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all patrons.

“Finn McCool’s Fortitude Valley will be upskilling and training staff on the new policy and procedures.”

Amid the sea of comments by shocked people was an apology posted by Finn McCool’s, which read: “Hi Juanita, we are deeply sorry to hear about your experience at Finn McCool’s on Saturday night. Can you please DM us so we can call you to apologise and discuss?”

One commenter pointed out the hypocrisy of one male security guard who had neck tattoos, which was visible in a video Ms McNamara posted of the incident.

Ms McNamara responded to the comment with: “All sweet, cos ya (sic) know, this venue and these security think their venue ‘rules’ say it’s ok to be racist lol”.

Another person wrote it was “bulls**t” she was treated that way, while a more sombre comment read: “I’m sorry this happened to you”.

To the latter comment, Ms McNamara wrote: “They will be sorry when I take them to the Human Rights Commission,” an intention she repeated three more times in the post comments.

In 1991 the Queensland parliament passed the Anti-Discrimination Act, which aims to protect people in Queensland from unfair discrimination, sexual harassment and other objectionable conduct and provides a means to bring a complaint and have it resolved.

Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 prevents discrimination on the basis of a range of attributes including race, religious belief or family responsibilities.

That includes direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of a characteristic that a person with any of the attributes generally has.

Despite the Act forbidding discrimination, licenced venues in Queensland continue to have a “no face or neck tattoos” policy that impacts people with cultural facial symbols.

In July last year, Moale James, who has Papua New Guinean heritage, was turned away from the Hey Chica! nightclub in Brisbane by a bouncer because of her facial markings.

The 23-year-old appeared on The Project to insist they were a “human right” and vowed to “make some noise” over the issue.

“There are so many groups of diverse people here that I live with and a very big Pacific Islander population in Queensland, and there’s a lot of us that are wanting to practice culture, including marking our skin,” she said on air.

“We need to be reviewing policies and legislation that are not reflective of our community. We shouldn’t have to assimilate, this is our culture and we should be allowed to practice it freely.

At the time, Ms James shared a private message exchange with Hey Chica! on her Facebook page, which read: “While we appreciate that our rule has caused you unintended distress, we do enforce a blanket policy that prohibits head and face tattoos at Hey Chica! alongside other conditions of entry,” the club wrote. “While we understand this is a strict policy, we will continue to enforce this under the Liquor Act.”

News.com.au has contacted Juanita McNamara for comment.

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