Today, Stuff reported:
What a prejudiced dickhead! However what makes this incident much much worse is that the city mayor, Jono Naylor, isn't going to reprimand the racist idiot, saying that a simple apology at the next council meeting for such a despicable statement is going to be adequate.
While Naylors' claim that the "council's standing orders did not provide a course for disciplinary action" is technically correct, it gives the wrong impression that his hands are totally tied, when that's simply not the case.
Councils are governed by the Local Government Act 2002 (PDF), which requires a Code of Conduct. Palmerston North's Code of Conduct (PDF) gives the Chief Executive the ability to hire, dismiss, instruct or censure any employee, including elected officials. A good place to start would be to dismiss Wilson for discriminatory comments to show that the council doesn't accept racism.
The council could discipline Wilson for his blatant bigotry in other ways as well if they wanted... The fact that they aren't going to bother indicates that racism is widespread within the Palmerston North City Council... How else to explain the claims by other councillors that the bigot was just joking when he clearly wasn't? What an asshole!
A suggestion by a Palmerston North city councillor that Maori women be sterilised to stop them smoking in front of their children has outraged councillors and Maori health advocates.
Councillor Bruce Wilson was speaking at the community wellbeing committee this week about a proposed smokefree policy covering the central city around and including The Square.
He said if the aim was to stop adults role-modelling smoking behaviour, and given 41 per cent of Maori women smoked, perhaps they should be sterilised.
What a prejudiced dickhead! However what makes this incident much much worse is that the city mayor, Jono Naylor, isn't going to reprimand the racist idiot, saying that a simple apology at the next council meeting for such a despicable statement is going to be adequate.
While Naylors' claim that the "council's standing orders did not provide a course for disciplinary action" is technically correct, it gives the wrong impression that his hands are totally tied, when that's simply not the case.
Councils are governed by the Local Government Act 2002 (PDF), which requires a Code of Conduct. Palmerston North's Code of Conduct (PDF) gives the Chief Executive the ability to hire, dismiss, instruct or censure any employee, including elected officials. A good place to start would be to dismiss Wilson for discriminatory comments to show that the council doesn't accept racism.The council could discipline Wilson for his blatant bigotry in other ways as well if they wanted... The fact that they aren't going to bother indicates that racism is widespread within the Palmerston North City Council... How else to explain the claims by other councillors that the bigot was just joking when he clearly wasn't? What an asshole!
