Point of Order: The legality of the mayor’s secrecy motion has gone unquestioned

Malcolm Harbrow, an admirably dogged campaigner against governmental secrecy on his No Right Turn blog, has drawn attention to something the mainstream media missed.

He has focused on the legality of Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick’s actions at a stormy meeting of the Rotorua Lakes Council.

RNZ is among the media which reported on the meeting, where a motion to move into confidential session over the controversial Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill triggered a a councillor’s immediate resignation.

No Right Turn has provided a link to the council’s livestream recording of the meeting (from 4:15 to 8:15), so we can see for ourselves what happened.

It then notes that RNZ‘s focus is on the resignation, but something has been missed – the mayor’s secrecy motion:

Richard Prebble: Labour’s new kind of democracy

The Maori Affairs Select Committee is hearing evidence on why my vote in this year’s local election should be worth less than a vote in a Maori ward.

The Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangement) Bill proposes, among other things, to create a Maori ward and a general ward both electing three councilors. There are 21,700 voters on the Maori roll and 55,600 voters on the general roll. My vote will be worth 39% of a vote in the Maori ward.

There are six provisions in our law that are so important for democracy that they can only be changed by the vote of 75 percent in parliament or by a majority in a referendum. One is clause 36 of the Electoral Act that guarantees everyone regardless of race has an equal vote.

Point of Order: Local Govt Commission over-rides Rotorua’s undemocratic voting model – but what will Labour-majority Parliament do?

Kiwiblog today reports that the Local Government Commission has completed a determination for Rotorua which will result in three Māori Ward Councillors being elected, but without sacrificing equality of suffrage.

As Kiwiblog tells us, the commission favours –

* An urban general ward – 48,410 people elect six councillors – 8,068 population per councillor.

 

* A Māori ward – 21,700 people elect three councillors – 7,233 population per councillor

* A rural general ward – 7,200 people elect one councillor – 7,200 population per councillor.

This means the commission has rejected Rotorua Lakes Council’s model which comprised one Māori ward seat, one general ward seat and eight at-large seats.

To implement the council model, special legislation has been introduced to Parliament to over-ride requirements of the Local Elections Act.

Mike Butler: How Rotorua council included racism

Rotorua, population 65,901, is the city known for geysers, the bathhouse, the gondola and luge, the lake, and Maori culture shows for tourists. A Maori culture show with a difference has bubbled away for a year as mayor Stephanie (call me Steve) Chadwick has pushed through a proposal to have local tribal appointees sit and vote on committees. The Rotorua Lakes Council is so inclusive that it has included racism in its representation.

What used to be known as the Rotorua District Council approved on Tuesday, in an eight-to-five majority, an arrangement in which two representatives nominated by a new elected Te Arawa board will sit on the council's two main committees with voting rights.