November 29, 2023
NRC shake-up a preemptive strike
Northland Regional councillor Peter Lucas Jones says a shake up at the governance table is a chance for transformational change.
Tui Shortland stepped down yesterday and with the support of Mr Jones and the three farmers on the board pushed through a raft of changes, installing Geoff Crawford as chair, herself as deputy chair and removing their four opponents from committee positions.
Mr Jones says it was a preemptive strike, as Ms Shortland believed there were efforts under way to depose her.
Cr Shortland was also made co-chair of Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party, replacing Cr Marty Robinson.
“Marty of course has been an excellent representative of the regional council but in my view the te reo Maori skills, the tikanga Maori skills, the international and global reputation of Tui in environmental planning and indigenous models of governance of the environment and management of environmental data will really assist whanau, hapu and iwi in that working party,” Mr Jones says.