Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers secretary Dr Reynold Macpherson. Photo / Supplied
Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers secretary Dr Reynold Macpherson. Photo / Supplied
Reynold Macpherson is calling for the mayor and deputy mayor to apologise after councillors were barred from asking questions about his ratepayer group's Lakefront development petition.
Macpherson, on behalf of the Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers group, presented a petition of about 1600 signatures opposing the development at the RotoruaLakes Council meeting on Thursday.
Macpherson's presentation included comments made during signature gathering. One comment used the term "iwitocracy" meaning iwi bureaucracy.
Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson took offence at to the term at the meeting and raised a point of order, asking Mayor Steve Chadwick to "terminate the presentation".
Chadwick did so and ruled questions were "out of order".
"The honourable way forward for the mayor and deputy mayor is to apologise ... and to cancel the suppression of questions by councillors."
Donaldson told the
Rotorua Daily Post
he would not be apologising.
Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson says he won't be apologising as he found the term offensive. Photo / File
He said he looked through the petition before the meeting and did not recall seeing the word ''iwitocracy'' in it.
"Reynold chose to pick it from wherever it comes and put it in his presentation, I find it offensive.
"My view is my view. The decision to uphold it was her worship's [Chadwick]."
In a written statement yesterday, Chadwick said: "I ruled on a point of order in my role as chair and as per the standing orders because I agreed it was offensive".
When approached by the Rotorua Daily Post, Te Arawa's Sir Toby Curtis said he was "deeply and utterly hurt" by the term.
"How can they say that when iwi have done so much to help the council?
