A replica of Captain Cook's ship Endeavour. Photo / File
Two Gisborne district councillors are facing a code of conduct review after one alleged the other said "not enough" local Māori were killed by crew of the Endeavour.
Councillor Meredith Akuhata-Brown said during a lunchtime discussion a couple of her colleagues said "not enough were killed", referring to when local
Māori were killed by crew of the Endeavour in October 1769.
Akuhata-Brown made the accusation in a Gisborne Herald column this week, reflecting on a trip to Los Angeles with a group of students who had been learning about racism and tolerance.
"I returned home to a meeting with some Gisborne residents who feel at risk from our prisoner reintegration system, and a Gisborne District Council meeting where conversation over lunch included references to the killing of local Māori when Cook arrived, and according to a couple of my colleagues, 'not enough were killed'," she wrote.
"We still have a way to go when it comes to tolerance and understanding and yet some would say we have had better education, so why do such strong attitudes exist?"
