Aubrey Ria embodies many firsts for the Gisborne District Council: she is the first deputy mayor holding a Māori ward seat, the first Māori woman deputy mayor, and the first deputy mayor to wear moko kauae.
Addressing the crowd at Lawson Field Theatre for the inaugural council meeting on Thursday, Mayor Rehette Stoltz, who was sworn in for the third time as mayor, said it was a great privilege and joy to appoint Aubrey Ria as her deputy.
Ria was smart, witty, had fabulous community connections, and lots of governance experience, Stoltz said.
“Aubrey is a gem.”
Ria had also been Stoltz’s representative on the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) Te Maruata board for the past three years.
“So not only do I get good feedback from whānau in Gisborne, but I also hear via the back roads in Poneke that Aubrey carries ... our Tairāwhiti flag wherever she goes,” said Stoltz.
Ria said former Gisborne Deputy Mayor Josh Wharehinga had left big shoes to fill.
“The first Māori to ever sit in the deputy mayor’s position, so a huge mihi to Josh and all of the work that he did over his two trienniums as deputy mayor.”
Following a Government directive prompting referendums on Māori wards from 42 regions nationwide, Tairāwhiti was among 18 regions that voted to keep its Māori wards.
Gisborne results showed 63.47% of voters supported retaining the wards, with 9904 voting to keep them and 5704 voting against.
Ria said she wanted to acknowledge the occasion, not just for her personally, but for the rohe.
“Our community really got in and showed how important Māori wards were to our community.”
Speaking with Local Democracy Reporting, Ria said it was not only important to her that she was the first woman Māori Ward deputy mayor, but that she was also the first to wear a moko kauae.
“I think that the mayor was really brave in making that decision.
“It echoes, I feel a huge signalling of kotahitanga [unity] across the Tairāwhiti, and it greatly reflects the percentage of the community that we have, and I think that she and I as a pair show a great representation for the Tairāwhiti.”
Ria shared a “cool” experience that showed the effect of her appointment on the community.
Ngata Memorial College, which she attended for two years, had put a post up on its memorial page.
“It was a message to all of the rangatahi ... If someone you know who went to this school can aspire to this height, then you can also aspire ... It’s really, really cool,” Ria said.
Ria also shared that, as she had been a teacher for 10 years before being in project management and on the council, many teachers had got in touch.
“Lots of teachers are saying this is so awesome for our Māori students, especially our Māori female students,” Ria said.
She believed she and Stoltz would make a good team because they collectively covered many aspects of the community.
“So together we have got a broad reach to many little alcoves and communities all across the Tairāwhiti.”
Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said to the newly elected, as they took office, that it was important to acknowledge the landscape they would enter and lead.
“Local government across Aotearoa are navigating an era of rapid change. Fiscal constraints are tightening, the impacts of climate change, and we know it firsthand, are accelerating, and our communities are expecting more from you than ever before.”
“The decisions you make in council will need to balance your aspirations with pragmatism, long-term vision with your immediate realities, and they will require courage, unity, and thoughtful leadership,” she said.
Also sworn in at the meeting were new councillors Jeremy Muir, Sam Gibson and Alexander Boros in the general ward.
They join the re-elected Colin Alder, Rob Telfer, Debbie Gregory, Larry Foster, Teddy Thompson, Ria, Rhonda Tibble, Nick Tupara and Rawinia Parata, who were also sworn in.
Newly elected councillor Anne Huriwai was unable to attend because of a medical appointment she was unable to reschedule.
She will be sworn in at a council meeting on November 12.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.