Racism row at Gisborne council: 'Not enough Māori killed' comment leads to rally
Tuesday, 21 August 2018
A rally has been organised by Gisborne residents who want their council to 'stop protecting racism' following an alleged racially inappropriate comment made by councillors.
Rally organiser Tina Ngata said there were many Māori who believed councillor Meredith Akuhata-Brown's allegation that a comment was made by two district councillors at a meeting, that 'not enough Māori were killed' during early European encounters.
'In all New Zealand councils, institutional racism exists and this was an opportunity for Gisborne District Council to address its own institutional racism,' Ngata said.
It 'attempted to bury it with vague references to informal settlement, cloaked in non-disclosure agreements', which was not good enough.
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'Gisborne District Council has reported that the councillor in question did indeed breach the code of conduct, so we expect more than a vague statement about their actions. We want transparency and accountability, not protection of racism.'
Akuhata-Brown said she wrote a column in a local paper, where she quoted the statement she heard, but was subsequently placed under a code of conduct review from another colleague, who felt she held the council in disrepute by not naming the councillors involved.
Akuhata-Brown said she was made to apologise to her colleagues following the review from the council's code of conduct board.
One of the implicated councillors had now threatened the council with defamation proceedings if he was to be named, Akuhata-Brown said.
'I'm not happy with the process and I did speak with Radio New Zealand [on Sunday] because I felt the apology I received was backhanded.'
Akuhata-Brown said she had another meeting on Monday with council staff because she may have breached the code of conduct again by speaking to RNZ, 'which I'm happy to do unless this is dealt with more appropriately'.
'I'm very happy to share my opinion and views to the wider media sector because I believe our region needs to own this and stand up,' she said.
'I think it's time we had that deeper discussion and actually unpacked it - the good, the bad and the ugly.'
Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said in a statement that the code of conduct review board found two councillors had breached 'different provisions' of the code.
The matters were resolved 'informally' with the councillors. The review did not confirm whether the comment was made.
The council was 'disappointed' to be in this position, she said.
The board had not released the names of those involved 'due to legal ramifications'.
Free Speech Coalition member Chris Trotter said the punitive action taken by the council implied Akuhata-Brown could not raise concerns publicly.
'There's quite a serious allegation, apologies have been said, this is definitely news, and yet the councillor involved is summoned before the deputy mayor who demands to know why on earth it is she was talking to the news media,' Trotter said.
'I think Meredith Akuhata-Brown had every right and had a responsibility to call out the comment that she overheard … Now she's on the receiving end of quasi-disciplinary procedures for speaking out.'
Deputy mayor Rehette Stoltz said she was confident in the process the council undertook and it was a 'democratic right' for people to exercise their views.
'I am disappointed that once again we are playing this out through the media,' she said.
Stoltz would 'like to reiterate' council's inability to name the individuals involved in making the comments because 'of a threat of legal proceedings against council'.
The rally was planned for September 27.