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Summarised by Centrist
Journalist Graham Adams frames Hastings councillor Steve Gibson’s recent refusal to attend a council strategy session held at a marae as a principled stand against “enforced conformity in totalitarian states — or in liberal democracies.”
Gibson, the highest-polling candidate in his ward at the last local elections, says his decision was based on three specific objections.
First, he objected to extended speeches delivered in te reo Māori without translation. He said he would have no issue if speeches were translated, but without that, he questioned the point of attending.
According to Adams:
“This pressure to engage with the language is often justified by the revisionist view that the Treaty established a ‘partnership’ between iwi and the Crown, which apparently extends to everyone being obliged to be conversant with Māoris’ ancestral tongue. The fallback justification is that te reo is an official language, although that argument is never made for learning sign language despite it having the same legal status.”
Second, Gibson cited discomfort with the spiritual elements embedded in marae proceedings, which he says conflict with his beliefs. He argued that compulsory civic meetings should be held in neutral venues.
Third, he objected on cost grounds. The four-and-a-half-hour session cost ratepayers $2,570 in venue hire and catering, which Gibson said was unnecessary when council chambers were available at no cost.
Read more over at Bassett, Brash, and Hide
Image: Geof Wilson
