I received a call from the press the other day asking me if I had any comment on the announcement from the Race Relations Conciliator that they were taking no further action on the complaint against me. My comment was “How do you know all this?” Especially when I was not aware that there was a complaint in the first place, nor who was it from, nor what had they alleged that I had done!
I had heard rumours of something like this, but as Mayor there are more rumours swerling around over various allegations of various things than I have neither the time nor the energy to have carried out, so I ignored them, foolishly thinking that if such a complaint did exist then I would be contacted by the Race Relations Commission.
No, they just tell the press that they are not taking further action. I rang them to get confirmation of the complaint allegedly from Maori activist and perpetual complainer Margaret Mutu concerning events at the Taipa illegal occupation of council land by some of her dissidents. “Can you confirm this complaint and why wasn’t I told”, I asked. We are too busy to contact complainees was the answer. “How busy, how many complaints do you get, tens, hundreds, thousands, how many?” I persisted. “Don’t interrupt me” was the response.
Anyone present at the well televised event (unlike Margaret Mutu) would know that I told those present that like it or not I intended respecting the tikanga of the occupants and would follow protocol for a traditional wero before entering their encampment. The eighty or so locals who had shown up to support me and my fellow councilors accepted that, but just before the challenge started a young Maori in a full face mask emerged to pour petrol over two piles of dry grass and light them in front of us.
This definitely had the desired inflammatory effect and the crowd surged forward to put out the fire. Part of my not yet identified complaint was that I failed to control “my people”. Well these are no more my people than the dissidents are. As Mayor I represent all Far North citizens, even the troublemakers of whatever colour.
The pathetic announcement to the press, (not me the complainee) that no further action is being taken, simply leaves all those Maori and others who want to believe that I somehow did something racist, able to go on thinking that this is yet another Pakeha conspiracy and I have got away with something. That stinks!
If I announce that I have found no evidence that the Race Relations Conciliator is a paedophile (which is true as I haven’t looked for any evidence and there probably is none), then at least ten percent of the population will think he is one! That’s the sort of useless rubbish we get from wasting taxes on dickhead departments like the Race Relations Conciliator. Better to just shut them down and let us all learn to get on without help from urban liberals who don’t live in mixed society like we all do up here in the Far North where the coastline that the government is giving away is.