Paul C
This Wednesday, the Taranaki Daily News ran two items:
and
“Nothing Democratic about Race-based wards”
The first is a report that the three Taranaki mayors, and the Regional Council Chairman have written to the Prime Minister stating:
“We are deeply concerned that the current legislation represents a barrier to progress in Aotearoa’s cultural evolution”.
Not surprisingly, although apparently all four signed the letter, not one of them fronted but left that to a spokesperson for the mayoral forum. Do they not know that this country’s official name is New Zealand?
The letter continued by urging the Prime Minister and the Minister for Local Government to “progress the matter without delay”. Perhaps I’m a bit naïve but I have always thought that local government was supposed to be non-political although we are all well aware that that does not seem to apply to the larger cities.
That the mayors have done this I find very disturbing especially as the Mayor of New Plymouth was happy to sit on the fence (by not voting) when the matter came before his council. He will be well aware though that when the matter of separate Maori wards was put to the vote earlier it was soundly defeated. He has said elsewhere that things have since changed. I will be very surprised if that proves to be true and I can only suggest that he knows that full-well.
The second item is a response by Don Brash to an earlier letter criticising Hobson’s Pledge for their stance and calling it ‘anti-Maori’. Brash’s reply is well-informed and well worth reading and is certainly not anti-Maori. However, Bonita Bigham, of South Taranaki expresses her disgust and calls Hobson’s Pledge “dishonest and deceitful”. I doubt she has read Brash’s reply, or that she would even bother because she won’t like what he has to say. Surely she knows that just because you don’t agree with someone else’s opinion that does not make that opinion wrong.
But I too can express my disgust and it is aimed at the Taranaki civic leaders who have made such a blatantly political move.
I recommend the article by Anthony Willy, which appeared on the website of the New Zealand Centre for Political Research. It is entitled “Partnerships” and is extremely informative.
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