Craig Jepson: Kaipara District Mayor on the vote to disestablish the council's Māori ward

The Kaipara Mayor says the vote to disestablish the council's Māori ward could go either way. 

Kaipara District Council could become the first to remove the Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward under new legislation. 

Councillors are meeting in Mangawhai today to vote on the decision, with protests also expected. 

Mayor Craig Jepson called the meeting just 24 hours after the new law kicked in. 

Jepson told Mike Hosking he doesn't think there's any need for Māori Wards 

He says it'll be a democratic process, but he just hopes intimidation doesn't change councillors' votes. 

Councils have until September 6 to make a decision, with a number of councils leaning towards retention. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
There's new Maori ward law is playing at a council
level around the country as we speak. The Cipriate District
Council gathers this morning. They're going to vote on whether
to keep it or go for a vote and ditchit
or digit The Capital Cast councilors have chosen to keep
their award this week and they'll go to a referendum.
The mayor up North though, is Craig Gipson, who is
with there's Craig, very good money.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
To you, Good morning, Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
How much angst around all of this generally?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Probably a lot more than I expected. We've got protests
coming into Long and White today. Evidently seems to be
a lot of media attention and it's not a present
situation actually, to be honest, are you here.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Kicking and screaming as a council in other words, you
wouldn't have done what the central government has.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Done, what I shaid have rated that Simming and Brown
said that it was a return to democracy, because I
believe it was. And then I ran the petition back
in twenty twenty before and I retrospectively changed the law
and I had a very strong mandate of eight point
eight percent of my voters here signing the petition wanting

(01:02):
to have you know, they didn't want the Mary Award.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
No, the I mean, you can't argue about the democracy thing,
can you. I mean, what Mahuta did was undemocratic, and
what councils do if they don't ask people is undemocratic,
isn't it. I mean it's irrefutably true.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Oh, that's correct, that's what happened. And you know, the
thing that's interesting about my position is I then went
to the election with my one hundred and fifty word
statement where I clearly said that I'd sponsored and presented
to the kip of district the petition objecting to the
undemocratic introduction of the race based ward and I received
one thousand and five hundred and ninety two votes above

(01:44):
the nearest candidate competing against me out of six. So
I see that as a very strong mandaten.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Well, that's democracy, isn't it? And that is a mandate.
The interesting thing about it is what councils are doing now.
I don't think they'll vote for a referendum because they
know if a referendum was held, apart from being a
waste of money, they'll lose, won't they. I mean, the
history tells us they'll lose.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
No, no one votes for a Maori ward or seat
when given the opportunity. I think I think that's a
statement of fact, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
I think it is. Look, I've worked with Mary my business,
but there was Mary. I have had probably what would
be classes at married business actually in the concrete game,
in the subdivision game. And you know those guys I
talked to them all the time still and that you
know they don't they don't feel they need to be
demeaned by having special special war. You know, we're well
represented anyway, but married by a population, and we've got

(02:39):
three meals in the country, we've got make up north there,
we've got tony of taps, or we've got farn hour
from winning something. Well, we're all represented. And if people
are good, no matter what their race or religional color
or whatever, done good, people will vote the man. That's
as simple as that, and that's been happening in our country.
We don't need to give special privilege.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
That's what I worry about. And the other thing is
we talk about Mary as though they're one group, as
though you might talk about men as one group or
tall people as one group, and it's not true.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Now, it's not. We're a very blended, mixed society. You know.
I've got heaps of mates out there, and I've got
you know, they marry with a blond wife, you know.
I mean they feel quite confused by it, or you know,
they want to celebrate their married culture, but they also
don't forget about their other mix. You know, we're a
very mixed bunch of people.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Actually, you have any sense of how the council will
vote today?

Speaker 2 (03:33):
No, I don't. Actually I'm not overly confident either way.
I think as we'll be once again, it will be
a democratic process. Everyone has their views. I just hope
that some of them are not going to vote the
way they don't want to vote because they feel intimidated.
There's a little bit of that feeling there, I think.
But yeah, we'll see. I'll run the meeting as best

(03:55):
I can and hopefully the democratic process will give us
a result that you know, we'll have to live with.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Good stuff. Craig, nice to talk to you, appreciate it
very much. Craig Gibsum, who is the the kid premier
in the in the limelight Today.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
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