July 26, 2021
Tauranga Maori thrive under commission oversight
A member of Tauranga Council’s tangata whenua committee says there is widespread community and business support for the current commissioners to stay on for a further three-year term.
The commissioners chaired by former National cabinet minister Anne Tolley were appointed when Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta sacked the council following the resignation of mayor Tenby Powell.
Buddy Mikaere says their terms are due to expire at the local government elections next year, but many people want them to stay on to lock in decisions about infrastructure and growth.
He says some former councillors are continuing to agitate from the outside.
“They’ve allied themselves with groups like Hobson’s Pledge out on the far right who of course are opposed to anything which might see Māori having a proper voice in the affairs of the city so they really are becoming a fringe element,” he says.
Buddy Mikaere says the commissioners have been far more sympathetic to Māori concerns, and they’re making decisions for the whole community rather than the sort of petty political point-scoring that got the council sacked.
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