Quips in the chamber: name changes, chariot races, and drug testing
Quips in the chamber is an intermittent Hamilton City Council column featuring some of the lighthearted remarks which don’t necessarily make everyday council stories.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Many people took a recent piece of Hamilton City Council news as a joke.
Mayor Andrew King, however, was serious about proposing Kirikiriroa City Council as the main name for his organisation to promote closer iwi links.
The backlash convinced King to shelve the discussion, but not before some in the community had a bit of fun with the name-change idea.
Councillor Mark Bunting pushed his own suggestion.
‘‘I am a wee bit offended,’’ he told Stuff, ‘‘because I did suggest many months ago renaming Huntington to Buntington and this has jumped the queue!’’ He promoted the idea on his Facebook page, and tried to get Cr Paula Southgate on board by suggesting Peacocke could be called South Gate.
A Change.org petition to change the name to Familton appeared online.
The argument was it would link the city with a sense of belonging and warmth, and require just one letter to be changed ‘‘saving you many, many dollars and cents’’.
There were also 12 suggestions from Facebook page Shit Towns of New Zealand, including Boganville, South South Auckland, and Riffraffistan.
IN MY DAY...
During a council hearing on parking changes – which included a car curfew to curb street racing – the police force took over the banter.
Cop-turned-councillor Leo Tooman made the first jibe at the expense of Waikato Road Policing Senior Sergeant Pete van de Wetering.
‘‘Peter’s been around a long time – ever since the Romans had chariot races,’’ Tooman said. ‘‘They used to run around the Colosseum in these chariots.’’ ‘‘Leo!’’ interrupted committee chairwoman Angela O’Leary. ‘‘Brutal.’’ ‘‘Been around since your day?’’ van de Wetering asked Tooman.
‘‘Leo was the emperor,’’ replied Cr James Casson – another former police officer.
SAFE AS HOUSES
Audit and risk meetings are generally rather serious, but some councillors seemed to enjoy a recent discussion on random drug testing for people in ‘‘safetysensitive’’ roles.
Mayor Andrew King wanted to know why everyone, from the chief executive down, wasn’t tested, and staffers said legal advice restricted testing to safetysensitive roles.
‘‘In the planning department you could be spaced out,’’ Cr Garry Mallett said.
He finished the discussion with: ‘‘I think all councillors should turn up with a test tube before they go into the chambers. There’s some pretty erratic stuff goes on in there’’.
In the same meeting, independent chair Paul Connell asked Cr ‘‘David’’ Macpherson for his question, then corrected it to Dave, with a quick apology.
‘‘That’s fine, but only my mother calls me David,’’ Macpherson said.
‘‘I’ve heard you called a lot of things,’’ Mallett said from across the table.
‘‘Yes, but they’re not fine,’’ Macpherson replied. SO WHAT’S THE QUESTION?
To the outsider, council has lots of rituals and rules that govern its meetings – but elected members learn how to make it suit them.
Southgate’s debate speech on collecting development contributions for community infrastructure such as parks is an example.
‘‘Mine is a question, really,’’ Cr Paula Southgate began.
King: ‘‘Excuse me Cr Paula, we’re in debate.’’ Southgate: ‘‘Oh, we’re in debate? I’ll make it a debate then. That’s fine.’’
MUM’S THE WORD
New councillor Ryan Hamilton got a bit of a ribbing after council voted not to revamp the central street corner where a Dame Hilda Ross statue will stand.
Hamilton’s mother Mavora – a former councillor – is on part of heritage trust TOTI, which fundraised for the statue.
Hamilton had previously suggested halving council’s spend on the corner, and he supported that idea when Mallett brought it back.
‘‘Hey Ryan,’’ chief executive Richard Briggs said later in the meeting, ‘‘I think your mum’s outside wanting to talk to you.’’
CLASH OF CODES
Later in the day, Mallett brought sporting rivalries into the chamber when councillors discussed their tweaked code of conduct.
He wanted to know if the same rules applied when he was at the footy club, especially if Marist had just beaten Old Boys ‘‘and I might talk differently to how I do here’’.
The same standard of behaviour applies at all times, Mallett was told.
King: ‘‘So you’ve got to cheer for Marist half the time, Garry.’’ Mallett: ‘‘That in itself should be a breach of the code.’’