Advert ‘misleading’

The full page advertisement by Hobson's Pledge and 1Law4All in The Weekend Sun of May 4 objecting to Maori wards is misleading because it suggests that the local election system is the same as the general election system, when in fact they are quite different. The main reason for supporting Maori wards is that the present local election system is unfair to Maori candidates. Maori voters are heavily outnumbered by Pakeha voters who mostly do not vote for Maori candidates because they are less familiar with them. That is why throughout New Zealand only five per cent of local councillors are Maori, and there are no Maori councillors in Tauranga or the Western Bay. Maori wards would simply provide fair representation for Maori without being unfair to Pakeha voters in any way at all.

P Dey, Welcome Bay.

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18 comments

Thank you LGNZ

Posted on 11-05-2018 16:15 | By crazyhorse

For pandering to Maori demands, fueling resentment and entitlement and increasing racism in New Zealand, thanks also for championing racist policies which have destroyed New Zealands democracy you are truly setting us on the path to separatism, every week an apartheid NZ grows ever nearer.


Crazyhorse, you deny nothing in this letter

Posted on 13-05-2018 15:15 | By Peter Dey

Crazyhorse you appear to accept that the local election system is different from the general election system and the local election system is unfair to Maori. Evidence from general elections proves nothing about local elections. The systems are different.


Question your Councillors

Posted on 14-05-2018 09:05 | By crazyhorse

The first question to ask councillors or mayors campaigning at the next local body elections.Do you support separatism? do you support maori wards or giving seats on council or council boards to unelected maori?.


Crazyhorse, dumb questions

Posted on 14-05-2018 11:57 | By Peter Dey

Maori wards are not separatism. The system for local elections is different from the system for general elections. General elections are fair to Maori. Local elections without Maori wards are not fair to Maori.


just not true crazyhorse

Posted on 14-05-2018 19:30 | By waxing

You know that to refer Maori ward councillors as "unelected" is simply not true. It is again an outrageous allegation by you designed to whip up support for your anti-Maori ideas. A Maori councillor is elected to council in a Maori ward in the same way as a councillor is elected in a geographic ward. Neither are appointed. They represent either a specific geographical area (that anyone not living in that area cannot vote) or they would represent Maori on the Maori roll in the council area. And you know that.


A binding referendum process.

Posted on 15-05-2018 12:27 | By crazyhorse

Whether they like to admit it or not, councillors voting in favour of appointing unelected iwi representatives with voting rights onto their councils, are putting their personal views ahead of the views of their electorate. Whats worse is that they are doing so in a way that denies voters their right to accept or reject race-based representation on their council. That is simply unacceptable. Because of Mayor Andrew Judd New Plymouth District Council held a referendum on maori wards 83 percent voted against the creation of the Maori ward.To blatantly disregard 83% of the population is pure arrogance and will only end badly.


repeated untruths crazyhorse

Posted on 15-05-2018 15:47 | By waxing

There you go again saying that councillors elected in a Maori ward are "unelected". It appears you are locked into the old smear tactics of propaganda - when you know something is not true, just keep repeating it in the hope someone will in the end believe you. Tell me please how a Maori ward councillor is "unelected"? And I assure you yet again that I am Pakeha, despite your constant assertions otherwise. Try making your arguments with verifiable facts. It would make a nice change and we could then have a discussion. Or are you scared of one?


Unfair to part maori candidates?

Posted on 15-05-2018 17:09 | By MISS ADVENTURE

Yes it is and very much so. A simple look at the RBOP voter numbers will tell yout that. For example a candidate standing in Tauranga needs around 20,000 votes, a part maori ward candidate only needs about 1,000 (in a byelection only 590) to get in and get paid the same amount. The gap here is "HUGE", Dey, I think you need to seriously rethink your stratergy and some, currently all your angles are bottom of the cliff stuff.


unelected part maori ward councillors?

Posted on 15-05-2018 17:49 | By MISS ADVENTURE

Yup that sounds about right, that is a simple case of the facts of it, a Tauranga candidate needs some 40 times more votes to have a chance to get it...maybe. for a part maori candidate ys just need your own vote and a few mates and you are in. The current RBOP, Government scenario is extremely rediculous and some. Anyone thinking its right or fair must be an aparthied lover from dubious pedigree indeed!


MISSADVENTURE, wrong again

Posted on 16-05-2018 12:10 | By Peter Dey

MISSADVENTURE, your figures do not make sense. You do not deny the fact that the Hobsons Pledge 1Law4All advertisement is misleading. The system for national elections is fair to Maori. The system for local elections is different and is not fair to Maori. Representatives of Maori communities do not get elected.


Crazyhorse, wrong about councillor's decision making

Posted on 16-05-2018 13:46 | By Peter Dey

Crazyhorse, the nine councillors who voted to support Maori wards made a simple cost free decision. The case presented by the Maori community was very strong and Maori wards would make no difference to any other voters. A community poll would cost $70,000. These councillors represented the wishes of Maori voters. The three councillors who voted against Maori wards did not represent Maori voters fairly as they should have, and put the council to an unnecessary $70,000 expense.


Simple cost free decision say's Dey

Posted on 17-05-2018 12:08 | By crazyhorse

If A community poll rejects the maori wards how is it a waste of money, having unelected maori on council will cost a truckload more than 70K and you know that!, ratepayers have made it clear at the next round of local body elections the first question asked of anyone running for local Gov't is do they support maori wards unelected maori seats on council.


Crazyhorse, wrong again. A Maori ward costs nothing.

Posted on 17-05-2018 12:42 | By Peter Dey

The Western Bay already has a ward election system. Adding a Maori ward adds no additional cost at all. A Maori ward would make no difference to non-Maori voters. Maori voters wanted it. There was no need for a poll. Three councillors forced the council to spend $70,000 on an unnecessary poll.


Crazyhorse, your misinformation is just propaganda

Posted on 17-05-2018 12:48 | By Peter Dey

Crazyhorse. there is a Maori roll for parliamentary elections. The same roll would be used for Maori ward elections. Maori ward councillors would be elected the same as Maori electorate MP's are elected. Calling them unelected is misleading propaganda


Crazyhorse, your language fuels division

Posted on 17-05-2018 14:21 | By Peter Dey

Crazyhorse, you misuse the words apartheid, separatism, racism, entitlement, democracy, pandering to demands, and fuelling resentment. You use these words as insults without any care for the actual meanings of the words that you use. That is just irrational ranting. Justify your use of these words, or better still stop misusing them.


There was no need for a poll Dey say's

Posted on 17-05-2018 16:11 | By crazyhorse

Maori wanted them, as in maori wards, so Dey say's maori should get them, anyone reading Pete's comments can see that as far as he and the other apologists are concerned maori can have anything they want and do anything they want, maori will take everything except responsibility for themselves, thats up to the rest of us, as I have said previously they'll keep taking as long as we are stupid enough or weak enough to keep giving, imagine what NZ is going to be like to live in if it keeps up at this rate in another 5 to 10 years, by then all the maori will have blonde hair lol and I bet still have their hands out.


election vote numbers

Posted on 17-05-2018 20:22 | By waxing

misadventure chose the largest ward/"constituency" (Tauranga) to argue that 20,000 votes (in fact it was 19,257) were needed to elected a councillor versus the smallest Maori ward where she says around 1,000 votes (surprisingly for her, correct) was needed. Apart from the highly questionable practice of comparing the largest ward with the smallest, he/she mistakenly thinks that wards at regional council level are set up on the basis of roughly equal populations. In fact their boundaries represent areas of community interests. Hence why the Rotorua ward requires less than half the votes of the Tauranga ward, and the Eastern Bay of Plenty ward even less again. If he/she is going to play with numbers, he/she shouldn't get caught! Plus most local ward Maori will have argued out their councillor nomination in marae debates in advance. But then, he/she will never have attended one of these.....


crazy, crazy, and crazier

Posted on 17-05-2018 20:28 | By waxing

You don't seem to be able to understand the English language properly. Alternatively your ideology is getting in the way. So perhaps it's best if you just stick to your own comments rather than referring to other's. Your allegations and arguments are becoming more extreme and confused the more time passes. Best just to ignore them, pity you, and wish you well.


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