Letters to the editor: Appointing based on race telling Māori they are not good enough to be elected

Decision on a Māori ward and Māori representation at a Tauranga City Council meeting. Photo / File

Tauranga City Council approved the establishment of a Māori ward, believing it will be good for Māori.

I cannot think of a more patronising decision, because it is telling Māori they are not good enough to be elected.

One only has to look at central government to see that Māori are being elected in increasing numbers. By creating a Māori ward, Māori will be trapped into one ward only, when they should be encouraged to stand.

Remember every councillor when elected has a responsibility for the whole city. But worse was to come from that Tauranga council meeting.

Almost a year ago the elections were held and good people were elected to local government, and good people stood and lost, and now Tauranga council has voted to appoint two Māori to each committee.

This is, in my view, totally undemocratic, and an insult to those who stood and lost.

For all those candidates who spent money promoting themselves and just lost, for example Erika Harvey and Terry Molloy, will the council be appointing them and others who didn't quite make it, but who would have been just as effective decision makers if not better, as the present lot of councillors?

Appointing based on race is, in my opinion, racist. It is another sad day for our city.

What happened to Article 3 of the Treaty that made us all equal before the law?

Margaret Murray-Benge
Bethlehem

Confusion and misinformation

Tauranga residents this week received one day's notice of the impending vote on Māori wards.

In 2018, residents throughout NZ cities voted an average of 70-80 per cent against Māori wards or compulsory Māori seats in binding referenda, with Western Bay of Plenty district people voting in opposition.

A request by 5 per cent of the public can demand a poll to be taken after councils decide to enact a Māori ward or Māori constituency.

A request has already been publicly suggested for this action.

The whole electorate then gets to vote on whether the Māori ward is created or not.

To start differentiating between people on race is what New Zealanders fight against.

In my view, this confusion and misinformation on the Treaty so-called partnership has already created separate education, health, housing, politics, child and general welfare, gifting of our natural resources.

Māori are well represented in our council under several statutes and we can't afford to pay for more intervention in local body procedure where there is already a legal representation system in place.

No other ethnic group has that privilege.

(Abridged)

R Stephens
Pāpāmoa

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