Te reo Māori words painted over on 40+ Tauranga waste bins in ‘racist’ attack

Vandalised waste bins at Kulim Park in Tauranga have had te reo Māori words painted over. Photo / Alex Cairns

A “racist” attack targeting te reo Māori words on more than 40 Tauranga public bins has been referred to the police and described as a “sad reflection” on the local community.

Following queries from the Bay of Plenty Times, Tauranga City Council provided a media release stating staff were cleaning more than 40 vandalised rubbish bins across the city in which te reo translations had been painted over.

The areas targeted included Kulim Park, Pilot Bay and Marine Parade.

The council said it had been working on this since late yesterday and the matter had been reported to the police.

It did not address a query on whether it was reviewing CCTV footage from the parks.

Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said “racist behaviour” in the spaces it administered would not be tolerated.

“We will ensure that the affected bins are swiftly restored to their original state to promote te reo Māori visibility in our city,” Tolley said.

“This is not who we are, or who we want to be, and is a sad reflection on a small section of our community.

“Te reo Māori is an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand and anyone who chooses to detract from the increasingly important role it plays in our everyday language is detracting from our heritage.

“Our message to those who are responsible for this silly and misguided vandalism is that it’s totally unacceptable and we invite them to reflect upon the cost and hurt they are inflicting.”

Tolley said staff estimated the cleanup would cost$3500 to $5000.

Vandalised waste bins at Kulim Park in Tauranga. Photo / Alex Cairns

The Bay of Plenty Times has also contacted the Western Bay of Plenty District Council about whether any of its bins or property had also been vandalised.

Anyone who has information that might help police can contact them in 110 or anonymously on 0800 CRIMESTOPPERS [0800 555 111].