Threats against Māori women not taken seriously, says city councillor
Tuesday, 19 July 2022
When Wellington City councillor Tamatha Paul opens her emails she knows there will be a few racialised threats against her for simply being a Māori woman.
Paul can’t count the number of times someone has yelled, “Now you listen here, young lady”, or the number of conspiracy theories about Māori that land in her inbox.
Paul (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pukeko, Waikato Tainui) points to the racism endured by Labour Party minister Nanaia Mahuta and Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
“The institutions just tell them to go to the police, as if that has ever been a safe or reliable pathway for us,” she says. “I don’t feel like threats against Māori women are ever taken seriously until it’s too late.”
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Paul and other wāhine Māori spoke to Stuff about their experiences as women of colour in local government, following the release of a survey of local government members which found that nearly half of respondents have experienced racism, gender discrimination, or other forms of harmful behaviour while doing their job in public office.
A leading clinical psychologist says gendered violence is more likely to happen to women, and doubly minority women, and their experiences of racism and discrimination become intensified as many institutions carry the subtle and open message that they are valued less.
According to Local Government New Zealand’s elected member profile, Asian and Pacific Island communities are underrepresented with little change since 2007, while European ethnicities are overrepresented in local government.
Since 2004, Māori representation has increased in local authority elections. Representation of women has steadily increased since 2010, resulting in the highest proportion of women, at 40.5%, elected to local government in 2019. A growth in the number of young members largely consisted of members who are female and Māori.
Paul said many in New Zealand would never accept a “20-something year-old Māori woman in charge … But my communities put me here because they want me to work hard for them, so I won't tolerate discrimination, nor will I let it stop me from doing what I need to do.”
Paul said the reality of local government is that it was a system designed by “old white men” and the system can’t be retrofitted to be more culturally inclusive.
“You can't karakia-at-the-start-of-the-meeting your way out of legacies of colonisation.”
Kārena Joyce-Paki (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) said that in her first term as councillor, people often thought she was staff.
She was the first Māori elected to the Kaipara District Council and over her two terms totalling six years, she has only once been offered a committee chairperson role, and that was a one meeting-only proposition.
“One time, during morning tea I was handed dirty dishes by guests who thought I was the cleaner. I’m no stranger to washing dishes, so I took them.”
Similarly, another wāhine Māori in local government who wishes to remain anonymous said that when she attended a workshop, the presenter walked in and asked her to bring him a coffee.
She said that racism and sexism would continue until Māori people being in these spaces is normalised instead of being seen as consultative or needing to be partnered with.
“Men are never voted in and told ‘great, now we have a male voice’, [while Māori women] have the extra responsibility of being us and representing another group,” she said.
Keri Brown (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Whātua), a Hutt City Councillor, says she has experienced verbal abuse outside her home at night, including threats to throw rubbish on her lawn. She’s also received social media abuse and inappropriate messages in her private messages.
“When I came into council, I advocated for Treaty of Waitangi training to be a core component of councillor competency,” she said. “I was surprised that it wasn’t.”
While Hutt City Council has undertaken the training, Brown understands that it doesn’t happen across all councils.
Dr Waikaremoana Waitoki (Ngāti Hako, Ngāti Māhanga), president of the New Zealand Psychological Society, said the power pendulum still swings in favour of European people.
“Those who are least likely to experience racialised violence and discrimination are white men, followed by white women, and yet they are also most likely to hold power and decision-making roles,” she said.
“Women’s bodies, including their personality and intellect … are subject to a level of harassment that impacts on their ability to participate in politics and stay the course. However, women who do, carry a heavy load as they are targeted in ways that are violent and demeaning.
“In the current local government election period for example, women are faced with attacks about their bodies, often in graphic sexually violent ways – tagging campaign boards with images of breasts, penises or vulvas.”
Waitoki said the dismissal of racialised and sexualised violence in bullying and harassment laws was a particular issue.
“The effects of it are seen in the form of psychological trauma, physical and spiritual trauma, disruptions in social connections, lack of confidence and disillusionment and uncertain employment prospects.”
Waitoki said more women of colour were needed around the decision-making table. “More women [having] greater access to decision-making positions and be free to participate as women who bring with them centuries of whakapapa knowledge of how to be leaders.”
Race Relations Commissioner and former mayor of Gisborne, Meng Foon said more needs to be done to protect people of colour. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done if that is the case.”
He, like many representatives from marginalised communities, has experienced racism around the table.
“I remember when I first came into council in 1994. There was one councillor who said disparaging comments about Chinese people … and one of the councillors reminded her to be careful because ‘Meng’s in the room now’,” Foon said.
“I think it’s very important for our councils, whether they are staff or elected members, to actually reflect our communities, to be the voice of our communities and to be there at the decision-making table.”
Foon believes that an anti-discrimination committee or a wellbeing committee would help eliminate racism and hold elected officials, community, and staff to account.
“Expose, educate and eradicate are my three Es.”