Tuesday, May 01, 2018



In support of Māori wards

The Palmerston North City Council is currently holding a postal referendum on the establishment of Māori wards in the city. They'd originally voted for this back in 2017, but a bunch of out-of-town racists came along and whipped up enough hate to force a referendum (something permitted under the current discriminatory law which makes Māori but not Pakeha representation subject to a popular vote).

I voted in support, of course. The local iwi have made it clear that their people wish to be represented in this way, and as someone who thinks that the decision is rightly one for Māori, the best thing I could do was show my support. past polls have led to Māori wards being effectively vetoed by a racist majority. I'm hoping that that won't happen here, and that the citizens of Palmerston North aren't all racists like Don Brash.