Waipareira Trust head stands down after row

The chairman of an embattled Maori urban authority did not seek re-election at its annual meeting yesterday.

Eynon Delamere, one of four Waipareira Trust board members up for re-election, told around 200 whanau members that the meeting would be his last.

Mr Delamere cited the declining health of his father for standing down.

However, the Herald understands that pressure from within the board prompted the move.

A trust member who did not want to be named said hostilities over recent actions of Mr Delamere against whanau members had made his continued chairmanship impossible. His departure is yet another casualty from the fractious board and follows the dumping of a third of its members in September.

Emotions ran high at the meeting, with questions raised over the recent removal of trust members, and over concerns with management of trust affairs. Criticism led to a motion of no confidence in the remaining nine board members by whanau member Gillian Shepherd.

The motion was seconded by Barney Houghton, brother of trust treasurer Ricky Houghton, but failed when trust chief executive Reg Ratahi deemed it unconstitutional, saying only the board could call a motion of no-confidence in itself.