September 17 2024
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Dance and culture success Hope on the horizon
Rural Women NZ and Te Whatu Ora have announced the successful recipients of their scholarships to help aid the medical staffing shortages in rural and …
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p Students from Dargaville, Te Kōpuru, Arapohue and Ruawai attended the Northern Wairoa Primary Schools Sports Association Dance event last Thursday at the Dargaville Baptist Church. The TK Geeks (from left) Kohatu, Kyle, Kzjarn and Riki (out of camera shot) put on an energetic show dressed in traditional Māori attire. “We had great whānau and school support who attended the day,” said Kaipara school connector Leesa Andrewes. “It’s awesome to see our tamariki being active, creative, stepping outside their comfort zone, sharing their talents and connecting with others. Thank you to ASB for supporting this event with spot prizes and personnel, and our judges, who volunteered their time.”
Working bee wonders
Northern Freewheelers members gathered together at the Glinks Gully Campground last week to volunteer their manpower to clean up the site …
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Gallery hosts a spring show
White Rock Gallery in Matakohe is staging a major seasonal exhibition that opened on September 1 and will …
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Council’s day in court u by Andy Bryenton
Last Wednesday, the Kaipara District Council and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua took their cases to the High Court, regarding the disestablishment of the Kaipara Māori ward. The appellant claims that a lack of consultation with iwi ahead of the vote on August 7, which did away with electorally specific Māori representation in Kaipara, breached the Local Government Act 2002. Ngāti Whātua specifically referenced clauses requiring such consultation. In defence, the KDC’s lawyers argued that it was the right of individual councils to choose their level of consultation on such issues. They argued that an email sent on August 1 was sufficient, considering the tight timeframe mandated by the government’s Māori-
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ward disestablishment facilitation legislation. The case was heard by Justice Neil Campbell, a former Queen’s Counsel and expert on land law. Mai Chen, lawyer for Ngāti Whātua, said that the email in question, sent by KDC chief executive Jason Marris, did not qualify as consultation in a way compliant with tikanga — customary Māori principles of justice, negotiation etiquette and statespersonship. She told Justice Campbell that there was “nothing left” for Kaipara Māori
in the realm of local government decision-making. Padraig McNamara, the lawyer representing the KDC, made the counter-argument that consultation was not required under either the Local Government Act 2002 or the Local Electorate Act. His position was that the council did not consult, but it was not legally required to do so and that there was not time to do so. The judge is considering other legal precedents ahead of making a final decision on the matter. ¢
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