16 November 2021
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Representation Review
Enquiry
I have these comments from Te Taru White, Te Tatau chair, to provide for the council and mayor for the right of reply
Could you please get back to me on this as soon as possible, but no later than 3:45pm. Thank you
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COMMENTS
Te Tatau o Te Arawa chairman Te Taru White said he was "not happy" about the council's lack of communication with Te Tatau o Te Arawa, nor the committee's decision to recommend the model with one Māori seat.
He said one guaranteed seat for Māori was "unacceptable" and Te Arawa had clearly said it wanted three.
White said Te Tatau o Te Arawa would appeal the decision, should it pass council level, to the Local Government Commission.
He was dubious whether a law change could be made before the 2022 election, and believed Te Arawa would be "stuck" with the one Māori seat structure for six years.
"We will make our feelings very very transparent."
"We're a partner. They could have at least honoured that partnership. That's just playing with us, that were a 'submitter'. We are a partner."
Response
From Mayor Chadwick:
“I’m disappointed with these comments and about what happened during the meeting today.
“Partnership is a two-way agreement.
“Te Tatau o Te Arawa has been involved in the representation review process from the beginning. We have supported them to introduce Maori Wards and we support them in wanting to achieve more than one seat within that ward.
“We do want the same outcome but are not currently in agreement about how to reach that.
“Implementing an imperfect model because it offers better numbers, is in this case, an overly simplistic solution and not the right path to take.
“The decision that needs to be made, needs to be bold and brave, recognize and honour the Treaty of Waitangi and the Fenton Agreement, and be a good fit for our community.
“Additionally, if we are not able to adopt our preferred model prior to the 2022 election, there are other options available to us and we will not be stuck with the model we adopt this week for the next six years.”
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Media: NewsHub Radio
Topic: Impact of Auckland COVID boundary on tourism in Rotorua
Enquiry
Reporter sought interview with Mayor Chadwick about the impact on tourism in Rotorua of the Auckland COVID boundary.
Response
Mayor Chadwick made the following key points:
Our tourism and accommodation sector has been hurting and Auckland is our biggest domestic tourism market so we’ve felt their absence
There is, understandably, some anxiety but we always knew there would come a time when we would need to be ready to live with the virus
Am confident our operators will make sure they have all the right processes in place
Ensuring we do what we can to protect our community and our economy is vital and vaccination is key to that