Some sanity seems to have returned to politics in New Zealand after the rejection of the woke and divisive policies of the past six years. Auckland Council (eleven of the councillors, at least), seem to have read the room.
Auckland Council has voted to reject Maori seats for the 2025 local body elections.
In a Governance Body meeting on Thursday morning, Auckland Councillors, alongside around 50 members of the public, were at the hui, inside Auckland’s Town Hall.
The table voted to reject an amendment by Manukau Councillor Alf Filipaina 11 votes to 9.
Mayor Wayne Brown chose to abstain from the vote, stating “I stood to fix Auckland and this wasn’t one of my five things”.
“This is a complicated constitutional issue. And it was quite clear that there wasn’t an absolutely clear consensus view from iwi, Maori or the wider public,” he said.
“Obviously, in the hope that we can come to some consensus about this and give us good support. And we’ll get stuck and restrict the thorns from this problem.”
Stuff
This was absolutely the right way to go, absent a referendum across Auckland. There is no way such a constitutional change to Auckland Council should be embarked upon by a simple majority of councillors. It should be put to all Aucklanders at a referendum.
North Shore Councillor Chris Darby, who supported the vote, questioned Brown’s abstinence in the vote.
“I think your words were ‘it’s not top of my list’ or ‘not on my list’…It is complicated and I’ll let you explain, but it appears like there’s no leadership…now you are leading on something that you’re not really treating as important work.”
Manurewa-Papakura ward Councillor Daniel Newman, who did not support the motion, said the proposal would come when council was unsure about the incoming central government’s plan for Auckland legislation.
The Mayor’s vote is immaterial to the outcome. But Chris Darby, a wet womble at the best of times, just had to comment.
Daniel Newman gets it right. The new government should set the tone.
Auckland Council has much more important issues to fix right now than trying to introduce race-based seats that the general public neither wants nor needs.
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