Post by Kiwi Frontline on Aug 3, 2017 17:31:49 GMT 12
SMALL MEETING SUPPORTS MAORI COUNCIL SEATS
Less than 30 people attended on Wednesday night, less than the turnout at a meeting in Highbury on Tuesday, with several people having attended both.
Speaker Don Esslemont said he opposed special entitlements for any group, and believed his opinions were "widely held".
He said the meetings the council had organised to provide more information about the Maori ward proposal had been designed to be welcoming to people who believed those of Maori ancestry had a special place.
"There are other views, and I have not heard anyone tonight express them.
"Nearly everyone has been at the meetings because they support a separate Maori-based electoral system."
He said the councillors would be "very unwise" to think the meetings represented public opinion.....
www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/95371497/small-meeting-supports-maori-council-seats
Less than 30 people attended on Wednesday night, less than the turnout at a meeting in Highbury on Tuesday, with several people having attended both.
Speaker Don Esslemont said he opposed special entitlements for any group, and believed his opinions were "widely held".
He said the meetings the council had organised to provide more information about the Maori ward proposal had been designed to be welcoming to people who believed those of Maori ancestry had a special place.
"There are other views, and I have not heard anyone tonight express them.
"Nearly everyone has been at the meetings because they support a separate Maori-based electoral system."
He said the councillors would be "very unwise" to think the meetings represented public opinion.....
www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/95371497/small-meeting-supports-maori-council-seats