Northern Advocate questions LETTERBOX over "Woke Seven" report

Last Friday, I received a phone call from Brodie Stone. a reporter from the Northern Advocate. It was concerning an article we published in the last issue of LETTERBOX (issue 30).  (Available here >>>)

That article (Cr Halse drops a bombshell on the "Woke Seven") reported on an interview carried out on the 16th of June between retiring WDC Cr Phil Halse and a member of a new ratepayer group called Concerned Ratepayers of Whangarei (CROW). LETTERBOX thought the interview offered some important insights from the 33-year veteran councillor and Deputy Mayor. A transcript of the interview was in the public domain, which no other media organisation had picked up on. Brodie confirmed she had no knowledge of the interview until it was reported in LETTERBOX.

I suggested she talk directly to Phil and CROW, as they were the source of the information. Given our role was to report on information in the public domain, I thought that would be the end of the matter, but Brodie has persisted in demanding a response from us, so here it is:

Retiring councillor drops bombshell on the "Woke Seven"

Phil Halse is retiring after 33 years on the Whangarei District Council (WDC). LETTERBOX has obtained a copy of a tell-all interview he had with Concerned Ratepayers of Whangarei (CROW). Here are extracts.

When asked, who is driving the woke agenda within the council, he replied, “A group of seven who are working together: Deb Harding, Scott McKenzie, Nicholas Connop, Patrick Holmes, Phoenix Ruka, Carol Peters, and Ken Couper…Because we have that woke block at the top, every time it gets hard, they take the soft option.”

Cr Phil Halse - voting record

HOW THEY VOTED

Cr Phil Halse (Bream Bay Ward)