Councillor’s ‘no’ vote in te reo misrecorded
When councillor Kahu Paki Paki was asked for his vote on a draft council car sharing operation policy, he said: “kāhore” or no in te reo.
But in the Nelson City council minutes, Paki Paki’s vote was recorded as a vote in favour.
Paki Paki, who was unaware that his vote had been recorded incorrectly until contacted by the Nelson Mail, said it was the first time this had happened, and it was probably the first time that he had used the term “kāhore”.
The Māori ward councillor said he often used the word “ae”, meaning yes, when voting.
It was similar in pronunciation to “aye”, and left little room for misinterpretation in either language.
On occasion he used “tautoko”, in support, or “kao” (no), he said.
Nelson City Council deputy chief executive Alec Louverdis, in response to questions from Stuff, said that after the council meeting on the Friday of the previous week, the governance team got in touch with Paki Paki to check which way he had voted on the car share policy and its amendment.
“After reviewing the recorded meeting later that day, it was clear that he had voted no both times and that I had misheard him,” Louverdis said.
The motion was carried 10 to 3 to adopt the car sharing policy, and this has now been clarified in the minutes of the meeting, the council said.
Paki Paki said in future, he would stick with ae or kao to reduce confusion.
He had previously been asked by “the aunties” how he responded during voting.
“They're like, ‘Oh, we like that you're doing it in te reo Māori’. I haven't actually thought that it might be a problem.”
Paki Paki said he was “not going to point daggers at anyone”.
“I don't ever want to shame anyone on that sort of thing because people can have that bit of an adverse response to that and that’s really not what te reo requires.
“We need to have a safe space, so if people don't understand, it’s a gentle comeback. It’s not really a wave the arm moment.
“But it does highlight something that we need to need to be aware of, and try and encourage better understanding.”
Louverids said the council welcomed the use of te reo Māori in the chambers.
Te reo lessons are offered to all council staff and are popular, with 48 staff enrolled in te reo lessons this term alone, he said.