Sir Robert Jones arriving at the High Court in Wellington for his defamation case against Renae Maihi.

Filmmaker Renae Maihi says an opinion column Sir Robert Jones says was humorous in fact denigrated, damaged and belittled Māori.

Giving evidence at the High Court in Wellington on Thursday, Maihi said she stood by the petition she began in February 2018 calling for Jones to lose his knighthood.

Jones' National Business Review column upset and angered her, she said. In part it suggested replacing Waitangi Day with Māori Gratitude Day.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Renae Maihi said Jones' column denigrated and belittled Māori.

"I recognise that the author was not seriously calling for Māori to bring Pākehā breakfast in bed, I nevertheless consider that the imagery of Māori servitude was racist and it would have the effect of empowering sections of society and inflaming anti-Māori views," she said.

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"Someone who was capable of writing words like this did not, in my view, have mana befitting of a knighthood," she told the court.

In his evidence Jones told the court that he thought Maihi was seeking attention when she spoke out, but Maihi denied that.

"I have in no way enjoyed the attention, nor the publicity that came with starting the petition and being involved in this proceeding."

Maihi had begun her evidence, on the fourth day of the hearing, outlining her whakapapa and diverse upbringing. She was one of eight Māori women directors who contributed to the film Waru.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Sir Robert Jones gave evidence on the first three days of the court case.

A packed gallery listened to her evidence but Jones was not among them.

Parliament did not ultimately agree to receive the petition which had about 80,000 signatures.

Maihi's lawyer, Davey Salmon, had set out the legal basis for her defence, but his computer's virtual assistant Siri interrupted him with, ​"I didn't get that, could you try again?"

Salmon persisted, saying Jones was free to express his opinion and Māori and other groups should be free to respond to racism.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Lawyer Davey Salmon's attempts to begin hos client's defence were interrupted by Siri.

Maihi's defence should succeed on the grounds her response to Jones' column was honest opinion, truth, a responsible communication on a matter of public interest, and made in circumstances that were covered by qualified privilege because she was responding to an attack.

It was also intended to be presented to Parliament which was a proper purpose and should be privileged, Salmon said.

Justice Susan Thomas, who is hearing the case without a jury, would have to consider whether Jones' column was racist hate speech and the public interest in ensuring it could be openly discussed, he said.

Maihi did not accept her words meant that Jones was racist and wrote hate speech, but the column was racist and hate speech.

She did not accept the words damaged the reputation he already had.

Earlier Jones' friend, Once Were Warriors author Alan Duff, said his "close mate" Jones

had a "crazy brilliance" but sometimes his columns were not as funny as Jones thought they were.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Author Alan Duff said Bob Jones was not racist and they both had been criticised for calling Maori issues for what they were.

"Racist" was one of the last words he would apply to Jones, Duff said.

"In my view the column was so non-racist it beggars belief that someone would take offence at it," he said.

Jones hasn't sought damages from Maihi but wants a declaration that he was defamed and an order that she pay his legal costs.