Gisborne District Council voted to retain Māori wards at a meeting at Te Pāhou Marae last Thursday.
OPINION
Marae an entirely appropriate venue
I would have thought that a marae was absolutely the appropriate venue for making a decision on Māori wards.
In the not-too-distant past, the council chambers were a daunting place for Māori councillors - particularly when an engineer publicly ridiculed any concept of Te Ao Maori or Matuaranga Maori having any relevance to engineering.
As a result of such attitudes, we still have untreated sewage going into the moana which is, as it was then, anathema to any Māori I know.
That narrow-minded behaviour, which I witnessed in a number of settings, alienated even prominent Māori I know from taking part in civic duties of this nature for many years.
These attitudes to Te Ao Māori remind me of what we faced as young people, with our education curriculum suggesting that Māori arrived in Aotearoa by accident. Their feats of navigation have only recently been recognised by most.
I would suggest that most marae I have had the fortune to visit have been more inclusive than the council chambers have been for many.
Geoff Meade
Added costs also
Re: Odd venue to decide Māori wards support, August 13 letter.
This appears a valid point. Loads of money already spent on the GDC building, should it not be used for the intended purpose?
It also puts councillor Adler’s comment into better perspective . . . then the unnecessary added costs of a meeting, getting all those needed to an out-of-town location when expenditure needs trimming to arrest the ever-increasing rates we are getting lumbered with.
Peter Millar
Charity not one of the purposes in trust deed
Winston Moreton in his August 13 letter (Sub-trust not a beneficiary) is to be applauded for bringing attention to the Eastland Network Charitable Trust (ENCT) as a “sub-trust” of Trust Tairāwhiti.
In reality, the situation and its effect are more sinister than he outlines. In the notes to the Trust Tairāwhiti Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2024, a special distribution of $40 million was made to support ENCT. That amount is now apparently available for distribution to appropriate charitable applicants.
Points to note:-
1. This proposed distribution does not appear to have been referred to in Trust Tairāwhiti’s Statement of Intent for the previous year.
2. The founding fathers of Trust Tairāwhiti were clear they did not want the trust to have charitable purposes as it would restrict the economic growth purpose they had in mind.
3. ENCT does not come under the scrutiny of those living in the district. It is not required to publish a statement of intent.
4. At the risk of repetition, a charitable applicant is not necessarily one likely to meet Trust Tairāwhiti’s purpose of “likely to encourage or sustain economic growth” within our district.
5. How did this $40m distribution pass the scrutiny of the auditor?
G Webb
Where did $9.5m go?
Re: Sub-trust not a beneficiary, August 13 letter.
I’d be interested as to what the $9.5 million was used on also. Again, great to have this brought to people’s attention.
PJ Reed
Footnote from Ed: The 64 charities that were distributed $9.58m via the Eastland Network Charitable Trust are itemised on pages 41-42 of the 2023/24 Trust Tairāwhiti Annual Report.
A Grey pantomime
Would “Streets for People” seriously encourage children to “play” and persons to “relax” alongside an actively dangerous, smelly, noisy, restricted, important, busy, recreational, residential, commercial, emergency transit corridor?
The majority of “people” the majority of the time “using the street” - like us - are in vehicles going to where we are or not going (so keep your nose out of our transport mode, parker).
The people using the “adequate” footpaths to get how and where they are going are mostly gone, most of the time.
And GDC somehow got written into the script and helped fund it!?
We support the critical letters and protests about this farcical performance and GDC’s priorities.
W. Rickard, M. Carlson
PS: What’s also puzzling is how the participants in the “Streets for People” pantomime get there and back.
Amazing race
Re: ‘Gizzy’ shares golden glow, August 13 story.
Awesome - such an amazing race. All of Gizzy is so proud of you. YEAH!
Beverly Anne Bayliss
Nurse warns Hawke’s Bay Hospital is “holding on by the skin of our teeth” due to staffing.