A Hastings District councillor refused to attend a council strategic planning session because it was held at a marae.
First term councillor Steve Gibson posted on his Facebook page that he refused to attend the council’s strategic planning session on Wednesday because he was “not comfortable participating in council business where religious or spiritual practices form part of official proceedings”.
He said the meeting venue had changed “at the eleventh hour” from a “neutral civic venue to a marae”.
The venue had initially been a local historic homestead but was changed to the Waiohiki marae.
Stuff
Face of the Day
Steve Gibson posted that he refused to attend the council’s strategic planning session on Wednesday because he was “not comfortable participating in council business where religious or spiritual practices form part of official proceedings”.
Latest
The Long and the Hard of ‘SEXINT’
How turning an inadequate dictator into a fake pornstar backfired.
Good Oil General Debate
Please read our rules before you start commenting on The Good Oil to avoid a temporary or permanent ban.
The Good Oil Word of the Day
The word for today is… raffish (adjective) - 1: marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness 2: marked by a careless unconventionality : rakish Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Raffish sounds like it should mean "resembling raff." But what is raff? Originally, "raff" was a word meaning