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From the mayoral office to Parihaka.
That’s how New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd hopes to make his swansong from local government in June.
It’s widely expected Mr Judd won’t stand again after the crushing defeat by referendum of his plan to create a Maori ward on the council.
He told Radio Waatea host Willie Jackson he will reveal his plans on June 17, when he will hikoi from New Plymouth to Parihaka, the township on the western edge of Taranaki Maunga that is a symbol of Maori resistance to colonialism and land loss.
"I’m really trying to reference to the country that I'm shocked by what's been going on. We've almost got to reboot and start a fresh and there are so many underpinning conversations with what that message is, not only the basics around honouring what was promised by our ancestors promised but actually truly Pakeha to Pakeha having an honest and authentic conversation with ourselves about our colonial attitude towards our treaty partner, the tangata whenua" Mr Judd says.
He says his experience as mayor has opened his eyes to institutional racism, and he now describes himself as a recovering racist.
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