Group has plan to counter New Plymouth Ma¯ori ward opposition
A Ma¯ori ward advocacy group has a plan in place if New Plymouth’s establishment of a ward is sent to referendum.
Rongomou Community Action believes an advertisement in a Stuff community newspaper published in mid November will help amass the petition numbers needed to force a binding poll on the issue in the district. But it hasn’t disheartened the group.
‘‘If it does go to a poll, the struggle’s not over,’’ Dan Lander said. ‘‘We will ramp up and we will put on some public events and do our own education campaigns to get as much reach as we can,’’ Karen Venables added.
In July, New Plymouth District councillors voted 12-2 to establish the ward. Mayor Neil Holdom abstained while his deputy Richard Jordan and councillor Murray Chong opposed.
Chong has since launched a petition which, if signed by five per cent of the voting population, could force a binding referendum on the issue, threatening a repeat of what happened in 2014 when a decision to establish a Ma¯ori ward in the district was overturned.
In September, he reported having a third of the 2874 signatures needed before February, to force the poll.
Venables said there had been a sea change in the community’s attitude towards a Ma¯ori ward since 2014, and she had felt quietly certain the petition wouldn’t garner the numbers.
But then an advertisement asking readers to sign the petition was published in the November 18 edition of the North Taranaki Midweek.
Venables said the ad, which was booked and paid for by a member of a Napier-based Hobson’s Pledge Trust, an organisation against legislation based upon ‘‘ethnicity or ancestry’’, had knocked her confidence.
Stuff Taranaki editor Matt Rilkoff later apologised that the advertisement was not clearly labelled as paid advertising, leading some people to believe Stuff was organising a petition against a Ma¯ori ward. He said it did not represent the views of the media company and that it fell short of its values.
Rongomou Community Action group described the ad as a ‘‘kick in the guts’’.
‘‘There were tears,’’ Venables said, explaining how it was ‘‘hurtful and demoralising’’ given the group had worked hard to peacefully challenge racism in the community.
Puna Wano-Bryant said the ad was also misleading and included inaccurate information.
The group was met with angered Ma¯ori ward supporters who wanted to protest against the newspaper, she said.
‘‘But that’s not our kaupapa, those aren’t our values. We are about promoting peace and inclusivity,’’ she said. ‘‘That’s the legacy we are responsible for.’’
Last week, Rongomou Community Action met with former New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd and Taranaki MPs Glen Bennett and Barbara Kuriger to discuss how they could progress a change in a section of the law which allowed for decisions around Ma¯ori wards to be overturned by a referendum.
Next week, a group would travel to Parliament to present a petition in support of this and speak with Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta who believed the change needed to be made a priority.