More than half of all complaints to the Race Relations Commissioner last year related to a racially-charged email sent by Maori Party MP Hone Harawira.
A report issued by the Human Rights Commission shows of the 1253 complaints received, 752 were about a message critical of Pakeha which was sent by Mr Harawira.
Commissioner Joris de Bres says the Hone Harawira complaints alone were nearly double the 407 it received on all issues in the previous year.
Mr de Bres says other work had to be put on hold while a deluge of emails, phone calls and letters was dealt with.
He says technology, such as online social networking, generates more contact from the public. Systems may be changed to cope with large volumes of complaints.
The Commissioner says a review will now be carried out on how the complaints about Mr Harawira were dealt with. He expects the review to be completed within a month and says it will be made available to the public.
He says the commission may look at separating the process so racism matters are differentiated from formal complaints.
