Former councillor Murray Guy has indicated he will stand in this year's Tauranga City Council election. Photo / Alex Cairns
Former councillor Murray Guy has indicated he will stand in this year's Tauranga City Council election. Photo / Alex Cairns
Tauranga election hopeful Murray Guy has been accused of “dog-whistle politics” and justifying racism over his handling of a Facebook comment likening a moko kauae tattoo to a “barcode”.
The comment, posted by Stuart MacGregor, appeared on a group page administered by Guy under a post about a news article on mayoral candidate Ria Hall, who has a moko kauae – a traditional Māori tattoo worn by women on the chin and lips.
The article was about Hall’s documentary and Guy’s post questioned the timing of it, suggesting media were contributing to her campaign. MacGregor’s comment tagged election candidate Suzie Edmonds, saying she could “try getting a barcode ... That is an attention getter. media [sic] may take more interest in you then...”
Guy is a former city councillor and has indicated on the Facebook page he will stand in the Tauriko ward but has not yet appeared on the official nomination list. The Bay of Plenty Times has asked him what his plans are.
Moko kauae are considered a sacred connection to the woman’s whānau and whakapapa and can reflect status and leadership within her community.
James Chen, a page member, asked Guy to remove such comments as they were racist.
The comment was not removed. Guy suggested the comment was “perhaps reflecting racism”, but also it “may not be”. Rather, Guy said it may reflect popular decisions by young Māori “who coincidence or not also appear to be somewhat activist by nature and divisive”.
Guy then asked MacGregor to replace the word barcode with moko, which was done.
Guy went on to accuse Chen of seeing racism in every action that Chen construed as undermining Māori. Guy suggested Chen was dishonest.
Chen told the Bay of Plenty Times he did not think Guy’s actions to address the comment were good enough.
Chen said he was a member of several local groups and the post appeared on his newsfeed. He was not running for council but was interested in candidates for the Tauriko ward, where he lived, and the mayoralty.
Chen said he had a marketing background, and had offered to help election candidates. He said he was approached by Guy, who told him he intended to run for a Tauriko ward seat and they discussed ideas, but it went no further.
Chen said he was disgusted by the “barcode” comment, especially as he had seen another on the same page likening a ta moko to a “WINZ barcode”. That comment was deleted “pretty fast” after he reported it, he said.
Ex-councillor Murray Guy was asked to leave after interrupting a Tauranga City Council meeting in August. Photo / Alex Cairns
Chen said he thought Guy would do likewise with the latest barcode reference but “he came back and attempted to argue the semantics of whether someone was being racist”.
“I strongly believe that his ‘debate’ around if it was racism is dog-whistle politics,” Chen said.
In Chen’s opinion, Guy’s actions were “utterly disappointing”, he said.
Chen said he understood some groups could become an echo chamber and believed Guy was using this subject to improve his election prospects.
Comments on the original post made about Tauranga mayoral candidate Ria Hall on a community page administered by potential candidate Murray Guy.
He said he believed Guy was justifying racism and selectively agreeing “to societal values when it suits him”.
Chen said he would like Guy to moderate the page better to stop comments that could be perceived as racism or any attack on any group. In his view, this was Guy’s social responsibility.
“If Murray cannot agree to that social responsibility, then I would strongly recommend him to rethink his intention to run for council and to stand aside for someone who does both understand and celebrate the diverse city that Tauranga is in 2024.”
Guy was asked whether he would do anything differently, whether he had apologised – or would consider doing so – to Hall and Chen, and why he did not remove the comment when he had removed a similar one previously. He was also provided with Chen’s concerns.
Ria Hall is running for mayor in Tauranga, saying she stands for change. Photo / Alex Cairns
Guy said he believed Chen to be “gaslighting, deliberately misrepresenting the truth, [and being] sadly politically mischievous”.
In his view: “A simple thank you from James would have been suffice [sic] but for his clear desire to inflame.”
Guy said he hoped there would not be any “fabricated and misrepresented matters” like what he believed happened in the 2019 election.
Chen, who has since been removed from the public page, said his only desire was to say racism was not okay.
Asked whether she had any concerns about the comment, Edmonds said she was not okay with racism and never had been.
“If people see it as being a racist comment and it hurt their feelings, it’s not something I can deal with. I don’t comment on those kinds of things and I don’t attack people who say it,” she said.
“In my own home, I will not allow that stuff. I’ve probably lost a few friends because we don’t agree with it. But in the public, I flick past it. I can’t be bothered with the bigotry. It’s not me.”
MacGregor was approached for comment but did not respond to the Bay of Plenty Times.
He posted on the same page about being contacted. Comments on this post by another person made reference to moko being a “WINZ barcode”.
MacGregor had not been removed from this page.
Hall was asked whether she felt the comment was racist, what she planned to do about such comments, and what her moko kauae meant to her.
Hall said she was standing for mayor because she believed she could provide leadership that could “deliver a much-needed fresh vision for our city”.
She said she did not think the views in question reflected what many people wanted for the future of Tauranga.
“I will prioritise my time and energy on ensuring the next iteration of council is focussed on the things that matter; our environment, our communities being safe, our inadequate infrastructure to support sustainable growth,” she said.
Hall said it was time for a change towards a community that focussed on attitudes and ideas relevant to a “forward-looking vision for Tauranga”.
Nominations for the Tauranga election close on May 24.
Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.
