`No' to binding referendum on Hatea/Hoteo River name issue

There will be no binding referendum to gauge public support for a proposal to change the name of Whangarei's river.
Whangarei District councillor Frank Newman yesterday took a notice of motion to his fellow councillors calling for a binding referendum to establish the level of public support for renaming Hatea River as Hoteo, as requested by some Whangarei iwi.
While Cr Newman's motion was seconded by Cr Sue Glen for debate, none of his fellow councillors actually voted for it.
Cr Newman said there had been no evidence put before the council to justify a name change and there was not even consensus among Maori.
He said there had been no public consultation, as promised by a council motion in April, and referendum was an ideal way of embracing direct democracy.
"Our people want to be involved in the decisions made by this council and this would give them the opportunity to do so," Mr Newman said.
He said referenda had been used successfully by the Wanganui District Council recently and by the Whangarei District Council in the past.
Mayor Pamela Peters said while the first public meeting on the issue, planned for Terenga Paroa Marae last week, was cancelled, another had been set for the NorthTec Marae on August 19.
Mrs Peters said she supported Hatea as the name of the river while Maori themselves had different views about the right name.
But, she said, a referendum on the issue would cost $80,000, even before taking into account the cost of staff time.
Mrs Peters said the August 16 meeting at the marae would be well run, open to all and give everyone a chance to hear Maori tales of the river and have their say.
"This is a Maori word, therefore some reference from Maori is important to establish the facts," she said.
"The public is not being shut out and we are committed to having a public meeting."
"This (notice of motion) is being divisive and attention seeking when Cr Newman knows we are about to hold a well-run meeting on this."
An amendment by Cr Crichton Christie that the matter lie on the table for two months so more information could be presented to councillors was defeated.
Cr Robin Lieffering would never support spending $80,000 on a referendum on the issue.
"It's not an important matter. It's been a beat-up of somebody to go down a populist path to gather the misfits together ... The aim is to destroy this council, destroy our mayor and our chief executive officer," Cr Lieffering said.
After a point of order from Cr Newman, Cr Lieffering withdrew the word "destroy" from her statement and replaced it with "bring down".