· A
DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) course is now mandatory for all new
staff as part of their induction.
· Use
of pronouns (him/her/he/she/they/them, etc) is being encouraged “to respect
each other’s identities” (presumably “they” can have more than one).
· There
is talk of a 'Māori Employment
Strategy' to increase the number of 'Māori' staff to 25% of total staff numbers,
and
· Staff
must attend a full-day course at a Marae to learn about Māori culture and the Treaty of Waitangi.
Our source tells all managers were required to attend a 2-day Wananga (Māori educational workshop) and an overnight stay at a Marae.
Part of that course instructed staff on the implementation of
council's “Taike E” (call to action) strategy towards full Māori “partnership” by 2040 road-map. (Our
website has a link to that report). That date lines up with the He Puapua
strategy that the Ardern Labour government formulated in 2020 but withheld from
the public until after the election in October that year.
The Māori influencers within the NRC are clearly moving fast to put that road-map
in place.
LETTERBOX has made an Official Information Act request to the
council asking for details about the number of staff who attend the workshop
and the cost to ratepayers. We will publish their response on https://letterbox-nz.blogspot.com.
It is
very clear to us that there is an internal takeover of the NRC, and with the
consent of a majority of councillors. The only way to defeat the radical
takeover of the council is to oust the radical councillors from their position.
We
believe four councillors need to be defeated in the October elections. We are
looking for good candidates to replace Amy Macdonald (Coastal Central), Marty
Robinson (Bay of Islands-Whangaroa), Rick Stolwerk (Coastal South), and Jack
Craw (Whangarei Central).
The
NRC has two representatives from the Maori constituency, elected by those
registered on the Maori roll.
LUNAR MEETINGS
On the 15th of April, the NRC held a workshop to
discuss aligning its meetings calendar with the Māori lunar calendar.
In 2022, the Far North District Council (FNDC) was the first (and
only) council in NZ to adopt the Maori lunar calendar for its meetings. There
is no evidence to suggest it has produced better decisions!
GROWING STAFF NUMBERS
Staff numbers at the NRC have grown from 224 in 2019 to 345
in 2024, an increase of 121 (54%) in five years. 62 of those jobs have been
during the term of the current council. (Source: Published annual reports). 77 employees earn more than $100,000.