Now we get to find out how racist New Plymouth is

Last night, the New Plymouth District Council approved the creation of a Māori ward to ensure that Māori would have a voice in their local government. Its the second time they've tried to do this - an earlier attempt in 2015 was overturned by a racist referendum. And predictably, there are already racist councillors pushing for a repeat. So I guess now we'll get to find out if New Plymouth residents are still as racist as they were in 2015, or if they've learned better.

Meanwhile, the situation where proper, Treaty-required democratic representation for tangata whenua is subject to a racist veto is morally untenable. we do not require it for any other electoral boundary decision, and we should not require it for this one. The government needs to repeal the provisions of the Local Electoral Act allowing such referenda immediately.