A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
Concerns for the safety and security of newly inducted Māori Ward councillors within Te Tai Rāwhiti are real and Gisborne District Council's zero tolerance to racism isn't worth a tuppence without adequate mitigation measures being implemented to safeguard our representatives in the performance of their official duties.
Local Government NewZealand's Te Āhuru Mōwai — A Sheltered Haven programme has already identified that risks exist for Māori Ward councillors, but is another smokescreen produced from behind a computor keyboard that by its title alone has misinterpreted the level of discrimination and racism that Māori councillors will be subject to — as was reported earlier this week in a Local Government NZ survey which showed 49.5 percent of councillors had experienced racism or gender discrimination, including threatening or derogatory behaviour.
How (or will?) Gisborne District Council's Māori Ward representatives will be protected in public forums, online and within council precincts are all valid considerations given the abuse that Māori Ward councillors in Tauranga, Ruapehu and Wellington have expressed and reported.
Undercurrents of racism and cultural intolerance thrive in Te Tai Rāwhiti and as the electoral period approaches, will escalate. Hopefully the CEO will not diminish the threat posed and will remind her advisers in their incident response planning that hope is not a plan, and head-in-the-sand is not a response for any councillor who is being accosted.
