A viral clip of a Rotorua Lakes Council meeting involving mayor Tania Tapsell and Māori ward councillor Trevor Maxwell is going viral on social media.
The clips on Instagram don’t show much context behind the interaction but councillor Lani Kereopa, who was there, talked to Te Ao Māori News about what happened.
She said there were two separate notices of motions by two councillors. Her one was calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Stripa. However, both motions were declined because council staff deemed them not to be council business
It was at this point Maxwell, who did not put in any motion, questioned why the motions were declined.
Mataara Mai, a Rotorua-based indigenous rōpū formed to advocate for tangata whenua rights, had submitted a petition with 60 local businesses and 1100 public signatures around Rotorua in support of a call for a ceasefire.
Kereopa was aware her motion as well as the petition would not be passed before the public council meeting but had still brought it up so the public could get a reason for the council staff’s decision.
Tapsell’s office sent a statement to Te Ao Māori News on behalf of the mayor, confirming staff made sure everyone was aware of the ruling.
“Councillors were informed one week prior to the meeting that bringing this matter to council had been declined. Mayor Tapsell had reminded councillors at that time that there was always opportunity to ask questions beforehand so they can be provided with information and any advice they need.”
Kereopa said the mayor was right and that the discussion was not an appropriate item for that section of business, with it being appropriate before the meeting. She believes Maxwell also thinks this way.
“There are times when politicians will speak up for the communities, during public meetings, regardless of the rules and that’s essentially what happened.”
She said they would push the boundaries for the community.
“The reality is though, there is no crossover between Pākehā systems and tikanga Māori.
“That’s why we’re seeing that interaction between the mayor and Koro Trev going viral because the truth is that interaction, it’s not uncommon, it’s happened in our council before but it’s the fact that it involved two of our whānau that’s caused a stir among our whānau and hāpu.”
Maxwell is out of the country but told Te Ao Māori News he was hurt and disappointed with Tapsell when she wouldn’t let him speak.
“I was hurt, it was the second time she has done this. I was really disappointed.
“I saw members of the public who were in the meeting afterwards who said to me, ‘kia kaha’. I felt like I let them down.
“I was doing my job. I was asking questions.”
The mayor’s office said the decision to decline the motion and petition was not made by the mayor.
“This was assessed against the council’s standing orders. There had been prior correspondence between the chief executive and Mataara Mai explaining that unfortunately the matter didn’t meet the necessary requirements of being related to council business and was an international affairs matter for government to address.”
The biggest controversy to come from the meeting was over Tapsell not allowing Maxwell to speak about the declined motion and petition.
“As mentioned during the meeting, the councillor was speaking out of order and not complying with standing orders of the meeting. Mayor Tapsell and Councillor Maxwell spoke immediately after the meeting to get a shared understanding of the issue.”
Many councils around the motu have called for a ceasefire, including the Far North District Council, Christchurch City, Nelson City and Whanganui District Council.
“I believe it’s not factual that it’s not council business. It’s actually just opinion that has decided that because, if it wasn’t council business, you wouldn’t have other councils around the country speaking up about this,” Kereopa said.
She said the reason she felt strongly about the kaupapa was due to indigenous ties.
“Some 49% of our Rotorua community is indigenous. Indigenous solidarity is important to us.
“At the end of the day, all oppression is connected, so all emancipation is connected too.”
But she said the mayor was receiving a lot of hate from the viral clip, which neither she nor Maxwell supports.
