Thus it’s ironic that the public service entity, the Auckland City Council, has the gall to ask a potential supplier whether they consider their organisation to be a “Maori business”. This question is found in the online application for those applying for Council contracts. It is #5 in a list of standard questions on compliance certification, insurance, services, turnover and number of employees.
It difficult to fathom how this
race-based question could have any relevance to the products and services
required to make a city function, so Auckland Council was asked for an
explanation.
THEIR IRRATIONALISATION
The Council’s General Manager
Procurement, Jazz Singh, claims that there is no discrimination intended. They
want to know if their suppliers’ identified as Maori, just in case, “to
ensure we are complying with any policy, contractual and legislative
requirements” (− not that there
are any currently).
Ms Singh denies that there’d ever be
any discrimination in anything the Council did. However, she contradicts
herself by writing that “our aim to
promote opportunities with Maori businesses is not something we are trying to
hide or want to hide”.
But is that not a contradiction? Logic
rules that if the Auckland Council is “promoting” one ethnicity, it must
definitely be discriminating against all others by not treating them equally. So
suppliers could be wrong to assume a level racial playing field when it comes
to winning Council contracts, in spite of “the Maori Economy” being worth a
healthy $50-plus billion and enjoying the significant advantage of paying less
tax (or none at all) than other Kiwi businesses.
Ms Singh justifies Council
discrimination with references to “legislation “and “Treaty of Waitangi” but
has failed to provide the specific Act of Parliament that requires Councils to
favour Maori business. As with the Unitary Plan, the bottom line appears to be
that Council employees are subserviently inclined to do whatever the unelected,
unaccountable, totally opaque Independent (sic) Maori Statutory Board demands
of them. No matter how racist, nonsensical, unsubstantiated, undemocratic or
against human rights these demands might be.
As if to balance out the Council’s
racial discrimination, Ms Singh provides assurance that the LGBTTI
(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, takatapui and intersex) community aren’t
discriminated against. Several departments (and their
suppliers) are working towards or are already complying with a “Diversity &
Inclusion Audit” and have been awarded The
Rainbow
Tick. I’m sure that will be
a big relief to the business community.
RATEPAYER SUPPRESSION
It seems the not-so-super city has a
ridiculous amount of control over its constituents. Despite frequent examples
of incompetence, waste and superfluous activity, it simply demands more and
more money from the people.
But never fear. The Council’s
entertainment arm will distract us from the absurdities. They even felt the
need to make a lengthy TV/YouTube advertisement, featuring John Kirwan, calling
on us to “Love Your Weekend” – as if that’s ever been a problem that needed
solving!
Ratepayers can’t rebel for fear of
losing their homes or their premises. And on the commercial side, few have the
courage to speak out for fear of losing out on lucrative contracts. The
conditions that support extravagance, separatism and corruption continue to
flourish in Auckland.
References:
2 comments:
Fiona has once again drawn attention to the greatest challenge facing the citizens of Auckland, in particular the steadily dwindling number of ratepayers who now support those of the so called "progressive element" who seem hell bent on driving the city into bankruptcy. The failure of the previous national administration to actually seriously address the insidious nonsense that she described, let alone demand that the Auckland City Council get its financial house in order,has now left very few options for the ratepayers to prevent the looming crisis. Perhaps in opposition the National Party in its local government guise, will somehow or somewhere find a new leader with both courage and charisma to emerge and lead the citizens of Auckland back towards the reality of strong, well managed, fiscally responsible administration that we so desperately need. James Carrick, Mission Bay.
I would just like to re-iterate comments made by made by many of your contributors. "All FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL." To post a Quote We are all born equal under God. Unfortunately in Aotearoa this is not the Rule Of Law!!!! The Maori seem to have the last stay in everything!!!!! Even now in our Local Councils which must have Compulsorily Maori Representation,even if they do n0t have the required amount of votes !!!!! I am not Racist at all I am married to a Foreigner of a different ethnicity who also has problems with different Races in her Home Country.
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