The Wellington Ratepayers’ Alliance put a full-page advertisement in The Post on Wednesday May 20 listing the rich list. All 33 bureaucrats earn more than Mayor Andrew Little starting with Town Clerk Matt Prosser on $531,616. Most are called “Chiefs” or “Managers”. At number 34, the Mayor gets 201,947.
Mayor Andrew Little
There are similar rich lists on other city and district councils.
The top Maori official
There are similar rich lists on other city and district councils.
The top Maori official
Chief Maori Officer, Karepa Wall
Chief Maori Officer, Karepa Wall takes home $280 000 a year, $78,000+ more than Andrew Little. This situation raises many questions:
- What does he do for his generous salary?
- How many staff does he have and do they all have some Maori blood?
- Are there Chief Officers for other ethnic groups such as Samoans, Tongans, Chinese, Indians etc …
- On what basis does the Wellington City Council justify having a Chief Maori Officer and his staff?
- Is this another example of special rights for Maori?
In the Treaty?
Can this situation be justified by Te Tiriti? As it happens none of the three Articles in the 1840 document mention such rights in local government. The Treaty basically promised equal citizenship rights for all New Zealanders, including the Natives as Maori were called at the time.
Can this situation be justified by Te Tiriti? As it happens none of the three Articles in the 1840 document mention such rights in local government. The Treaty basically promised equal citizenship rights for all New Zealanders, including the Natives as Maori were called at the time.
With so many other special rights for present day part-Maori, who are mainly descended from colonists and settlers, the situation is in breach of Article One of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights which the country signed up to in 1948.
Equality for all New Zealand citizens is long overdue.
Roger Childs is a writer and freelance journalist. He is a former history and geography teacher, who wrote or co-authored 10 school textbooks. This article was originally posted HERE.
3 comments:
I wasn't really sure what half the WCC rich list employees do, based on their job titles.... What do they actually do each hour of the day M-F, outside of the two hours for tea breaks and the two hours for lunch? (So, actually, what do they do during their 3.5 hours of actual work per day?). Note: Your answer cannot include the word 'meeting'.
Yes - indeed another example of special rights for one ethnic group which now seems to happen on a daily basis. This is why the UNDRIP clause in the NZ/India FTA caused wide concern - this UN Declaration is about recognizing and promoting the rights of indigenous minorities. One Minister lamely said that " the Declaration is unenforceable" - if so, why is it mentioned so prominently?
At the same time, regular confirmation of equal citizenship for all NZs is all too rare.
Some pertinent questions, RC.
Peter Abelard, mediaeval philosopher, once said that by doubting, we come to question; by questioning, we come to the truth.
I note Auckland University has a Maori Pro-Vice Chancellor and Waikato University has a Deputy Vice-Chancellor Maori, so there is a trend for such appointments. Whether they have any value, or are merely tokenism, I know not.
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