Duncan dives into a major shift happening right now in the Far North District Council. They have held an extraordinary meeting to give full voting and speaking rights to unelected iwi and hapu members. We look at what this means for local democracy and whether shared governance works when there is no shared electoral accountability to the ratepayers.
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15 comments:
So, by November 2026 and unless the Coalition honours its commitments to its voters, co-governance will be functioning at the Far North Council - and in others . No action from the PM or Minister Watts. Democracy is ignored and ethnocracy prevails. Was this privately agreed between the PM and Iwi on Waitangi Day 2026?
This is just so depressing. I predict numbers leaving will increase if this and race based policy is not sorted. It is completely ruining this country, our standard of living is in a slow but steady decline. Our politicians are letting us down, National NO action, NZFirst well come on winston you did say you would get the treaty out of legislation so ???, and now david seymour, he seems tired or has he given up??? Completely let us down, and what are the media doing??? NOTHING
Great way to ensure the region remains impoverished
Democracy "by the people, for the people" has just been dumped and Minister Watts smiles and does nothing. This tells me loud and clear that National support this
To LNF: and still they expect to win? Delusional.
Ah, another opinion piece from an author oblivious to the concept of representative democracy. The pile is getting high!
It's really going to be ultimately up to the ratepayers whether they are prepared to see their rates being used to fund unessential projects(and people). It seems to take a fair bit of time for New Zealanders to get their heads around these issues unfortunately. Sooner or later the funds will disappear. The far North will look the same, and nobody will benefit. The sad thing is, unlike other small successful countries like Singapore, colonisation is being used to divide, not unite. Just imagine if these radical dividers were not taken seriously by our politicians. New Zealand could be so much better.
Just give a a single valid reason why these unelected people are on any committes ?
Any reason, anyone ?
Watt is going on ?
No gonads to stop it ?
"Ah, another opinion piece from an author oblivious to the concept of representative democracy. The pile is getting high!"
By this comment, do you mean that you consider the coup in the Far North to be in pursuit of representative democracy? Surely not: what's happening there is the implementation of apartheid, pure and simple. Take it from a member of the generation which campaigned against it. That's what it is.
Weak and fearful govt, at any level, soon becomes chaotic, and then catastrophic non-govt. We seem to be rapidly approaching that state. At both national and local levels.
Now it seems Shane Jones is acting like a Trump replica because he doesn't like a Councillors views on the unelected voting on decisions. He considers the Far North his personal fiefdom and if he says it's OK, then everyone should should shut up. All good for NZ's democracy, you agree ?
Good point, Anon @ 5.50pm. Just another reason not to waste your vote on NZ First. Wolves in sheep's clothing...
The culture wars march on. Thank god no one is paying attention to NACTNZF messing up the economy, it might have an impact on the election!
And don't forget, Hugh, who was dishing out the dosh to the bros on Waitangi Day, and in the years before in those Regional Development funds etc.
To anon 11-13. The Local Govt Act (amended by Helen Clarks govt) allows unelected advisors on to Council committees, assumingly to give specialist advice. As with all good intentions, this innocuous rule has been hijacked by radicals to load up as many as they see fit. I'm not sure about voting rights and remuneration though. I guess 'koha' is involved and justified on cultural grounds. Interesting how local maori want influence, but don't pay rates on maori land, to help fund it. Silly whitey does of course
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