adjective
treating a person or group differently from and usually worse than other people, because of their race, gender, sexuality, etc.:
PoO checked out the dictionary meaning after reading of a councillor in Taumaranui who wanted to re-label her council’s Māori ward referendum as discriminatory, only to be advised the word was inappropriate because the poll must be conducted impartially.
What a bummer!
Ruapehu District councillor Janelle Hinch called for the word “discriminatory” to be inserted into a resolution noting legal restrictions on the council’s involvement in the referendum process.
The Local Democracy Report account of council proceedings explained that a binding poll will be held in October alongside this year’s local body elections to decide whether the council will keep its Māori ward.
The council formally objected to the referendum in a submission last year to central government.
PoO winkled out this RNZ report of what happened around the council table in September last year:
Ruapehu District councillors have condemned Māori ward legislation as discriminatory and are seeking advice on the consequences if they refuse to run a binding poll at next October’s election.
A unanimous vote on Wednesday to keep the Māori ward came as no surprise after councillors made their support clear at a community meeting in Ohakune last month.
The decision means there will now be a binding poll on the ward at next year’s election, as required by law.
Councillors said they did not support holding a binding poll and directed the chief executive to provide further information on the implications if the council did not run one.
They also backed Cr Janelle Hinch’s strongly worded motion to note that the decision to retain the ward meant they would be “forced against our will to hold a discriminatory binding poll”.
“It is very important that the historical record shows how we feel about this situation,” Hinch said.
And:
She said dedicated Māori representation was essential to create an equitable future for all.
An equitable future for all?
That sounds laudable.
The Local Democracy Report account of council proceedings explained that a binding poll will be held in October alongside this year’s local body elections to decide whether the council will keep its Māori ward.
The council formally objected to the referendum in a submission last year to central government.
PoO winkled out this RNZ report of what happened around the council table in September last year:
Ruapehu District councillors have condemned Māori ward legislation as discriminatory and are seeking advice on the consequences if they refuse to run a binding poll at next October’s election.
A unanimous vote on Wednesday to keep the Māori ward came as no surprise after councillors made their support clear at a community meeting in Ohakune last month.
The decision means there will now be a binding poll on the ward at next year’s election, as required by law.
Councillors said they did not support holding a binding poll and directed the chief executive to provide further information on the implications if the council did not run one.
They also backed Cr Janelle Hinch’s strongly worded motion to note that the decision to retain the ward meant they would be “forced against our will to hold a discriminatory binding poll”.
“It is very important that the historical record shows how we feel about this situation,” Hinch said.
And:
She said dedicated Māori representation was essential to create an equitable future for all.
An equitable future for all?
That sounds laudable.
Equitable
adjective
treating everyone fairly and in the same way:
So what are the governance arrangements in Ruapehu district that create an equitable future for all?
The council website explains:
Governance of the Ruapehu District is undertaken by the Ruapehu District Council (RDC) comprising a mayor elected at large (by the entire District) and nine councillors representing two Wards:
- Ruapehu General Ward – six councillors.
- Ruapehu Māori Ward – three councillors.
The Māori Electoral Option is a choice for Māori about which electoral roll to be on: the Māori roll or the general roll.
When can you choose rolls?
If you are Māori, and enrolling to vote for the first time, you choose which electoral roll you want to be on.
You can also change your roll type at any time, except:
- in the 3 months before a general election
- in the 3 months before local elections which are held every 3 years
- before a parliamentary by-election if the change would move you into the electorate where the by-election is being held.
Can anyone else choose between the two rolls?
The website makes no mention of anyone but Maori being given that entitlement.
Overlooking this palpable discrimination, the council is keen to show it is non-discriminatory on the question of the referendum:
In a report on election matters to a council meeting last week, governance manager Tasha Paladin recommended the council note the legal requirements and implications of the referendum.
Paladin said the council must be cautious about promoting a specific position on the poll.
“This could breach section 4 of the Local Electoral Act 2001 and potentially lead to the poll being declared void if challenged,” Paladin said.
And:
Deputy mayor Viv Hoeta said councillors did not have to agree with holding a referendum – “we don’t; it’s something that has been imposed on us” – but the council must remain neutral and unbiased.
Hinch withdrew her proposed amendment “for the protection of council”.
The council instead passed an additional resolution noting that it had formally submitted to central government its opposition to a Māori ward referendum.
Voting documents for the local body elections will include polls on the retention of Māori wards for both Ruapehu District Council and Māori constituencies for Horizons Regional Council.
Voters will vote ‘For’ or ‘Against’ keeping these arrangements.
The outcome of the poll will be binding and will decide if Māori wards will be retained for the next two triennial elections in 2028 and 2031.
The Tauranga City Council has been doing its bit for discriminatory governance, too.
On Friday it welcomed three iwi representatives who will sit on council committees.
The news is reported under a Local Democracy Reporting headline which reflects the Mayor’s enthusiasm for giving decision-making privileges to iwi leaders:
This suggests even more appointments would result in even better decisions.
So – why doesn’t the council make more appointments?
Late last year, elected council members voted to reinstate “tangata whenua representatives” and “their voting rights” to the council’s three committees.
The three tangata whenua representatives will be paid $1085 a meeting which includes any needed preparation and $542 for a workshop or “approved duties”.
Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the councillors involved in the selection process were impressed with the quality of the candidates.
The skills and knowledge the iwi representatives would bring would be a benefit for Tauranga, he said during Wednesday’s meeting.
“We will make better decisions for the city.”
Significantly, the council did not initiate these appointments to improve its decision-making capability.
The request to reinstate tangata whenua representatives to council committees was made by Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana, a collective that represents the 17 iwi and hapū in Tauranga.
Iwi representatives had been appointed to council committees since 2016 and were given voting rights in 2020.
At a council meeting in December, Te Rangapū chairwoman Matire Duncan played the Treaty card, saying tangata whenua representation was a legal requirement under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Local Government and Resource Management Acts, not preferential treatment.
It plainly is preferential treatment, if non-Maori are denied the chance to become appointed members who are given voting rights.
Significantly, Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell has drafted a bill that would introduce equal voting rights.
Non-discriminatory governance, in other words.
Uffindell said the draft bill was intended to stop any move away from the principle of equal suffrage where each person got an equal say in electing people.
Critics say the Treaty of Waitangi over-rides democracy and claim Uffindell’s bill risks undermining the Crown’s Treaty obligations.
Matire Duncan is among those critics:
“This bill misrepresents Māori representation mechanisms as special rights rather than corrective measures to address the ongoing effects of colonisation and ensure meaningful partnership between the Crown and tangata whenua.”
Uffindell says he disagrees with giving voting rights to any unelected members on council committees, whether on “racial lines” or “expertise lines”.
PoO would expect the Government to get behind this bill. But the PM is apt to shy off when iwi leaders bring “the Treaty” into their rhetoric on governance issues.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
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