August 22, 2018
Racist rant sparks Gisborne march
MEREDITH AKUHATA-BROWN INTERVIEW
Māori in Tūranganui a Kiwa plan to march against the way the Gisborne District Council has handled a council's allegedly racist comments.
Councillor Meredith Akuhata Brown reported in a newspaper column that fellow councillors had responded to an explanation of the region's Māori history by saying not enough Māori had been killed in early encounters with Europeans.
For that she ended up being found to have breached the council's code of conduct and told to apologise for bringing the council into disrepute – even though the comment also breached the code.
One of the implicated councillors has threatened the council with defamation proceedings if he was to be named.
Ms Akuhata-Brown says she was unhappy with the review and believes the councillor needs to own his statement and apologise.
She welcomes the rally as a sign the community is unwilling for racism to be swept under the rug.
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