Judd backing Ma¯ori wards for PN
Former New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd has given his support to a campaign for Ma¯ori wards in Manawatu¯ and Palmerston North - an issue that ended his political career in Taranaki.
Both the Palmerston North City Council and Manawatu¯ District Council voted last year in favour of establishing Ma¯ ori wards.
Opponents are nearing their petition targets to force polls that could overturn those decisions.
In response, supporters of Ma¯ori wards have formed a coalition to ensure they do go ahead. Judd said he was watching developments closely.
He championed the creation of a Ma¯ori Ward on the New Plymouth District Council during his first year as mayor in 2014. This was approved by the council but later rejected by 83 per cent of New Plymouth voters.
Judd, who said he suffered abuse in the streets over his stance, decided not to seek reelection in 2016.
He has since petitioned for a law change that would remove voters’ ability to demand a poll to overturn a decision by their elected councillors on Ma¯ori wards.
He said the current rules did not apply to any other council decision about representation, such as whether to have geographically-defined wards.
‘‘It irks me that we allow this process.’’ Judd said it was fantastic that the Palmerston North and Manawatu¯ councils had shown strong leadership, and he hoped their citizens would support them.
He said he had not observed the level of animosity the New Plymouth proposal had provoked.
‘‘It gives me hope that it might stick.’’
Spokesperson and Palmerston North city councillor Aleisha Rutherford said more than 50 people attended the initial meeting to form the coalition, representing both councils, iwi, unions, Labour and the Green Party.
She said the supporters, including people of a mix of ages and ethnic groups, believed the councils’ decisions to guarantee Ma¯ori would be able to elect councillors to represent them was positive and progressive.
Rutherford said it was people’s legal right to petition for a referendum, but supporters wanted to make sure they were properly informed and understood how ensuring there were Ma¯ ori voices on councils would strengthen local democracy.
The petitions in the district and city have been backed by Hobson’s Pledge, a lobby group dedicated to removing what it sees as legislative favouritism for Ma¯ ori.
A poll required the signatures of 2727 registered city electors and
1004 registered district council voters. Manawatu¯ was approaching its 1004-signature target, but organiser Andrew Quarrie said the goal was to gather far more than that to build in ‘‘a redundancy factor’’.
He estimated as many as 10 per cent of signatures were from people who were not registered to vote in Manawatu¯ , and a similar petition in Whakatane had scored
20 per cent of ineligible signatures. Rutherford said the local coalition wanted to ensure people knew that the petitions sought to overturn decisions the councils had made, rather than have a poll on whether or not there should be Ma¯ ori wards.
‘‘I have confidence that elected members have made the right decision in the best interests of the region, and I am not surrounded by a lot of negativity about it.’’
If a petition is presented in Palmerston North, city council legal adviser John Annabell said the aim was to check the validity of signatures within a day.
The poll was legally required to be held within 89 days of chief executive Heather Shotter being informed, and by May 21 at the latest.
The council could not carry out a representation review on whether there would be any other wards created for the 2019 and 2022 elections until the poll results were in.
Open after storm
The main marina carpark and boat ramp at Port Taranaki have reopened to the public following Thursday’s storms. The lee breakwater and car park were closed following 4.5 metre swells from a king tide that smashed the harbour. Port Taranaki chief executive Guy Roper said people can now access the area but has asked visitors to ‘‘take care and be patient’’ while boulder removal, metal restoration and carpark sealant work continues. ‘‘There are still a number of areas that are fenced off where work needs to be completed,’’ he said. ‘‘We are asking the public to take care around the entire site, and to be patient, as there may be delays.’’ Repair work to the area began on Friday. It was the second time the site had been hammered by wild weather within a month. Roper said extra drainage installed following that earlier storm had worked well during Thursday’s surges, helping to limit damage. He said no more damage had occurred during the 3.8m high tide overnight on Friday and clean-up and repair work had gone well to make the area useable for the weekend. The breakwater is ‘‘doing the job it is designed to do’’ Roper said. ‘‘Overtopping of the breakwaters in king tides is all part of the design.’’
It gives me hope that it might stick.
Andrew Judd