Whinging from mayors and councils choosing to actively promote and endorse Maori wards in Palmerston North, Manawatu, Western Bay, Whakatane and previously New Plymouth is preposterous. Referendum costs are not caused by those seeking honesty, accountability and transparency but by councillors who never raised race-based ward issues at 2016 elections, never consulted with, nor sought submissions from citizens, but are kowtowing to vested Maori interests.

All race-based hogwash should be consigned to the trash can. It has no place in New Zealand, yet look at inane Labour Party and Greens Maori policy manifestos and recent utterances from Ms Mahuta, Minister of Local Government and Maori Development.

Ms Mahuta promotes raising Maori incomes by 2021 while countenancing legislation to foist elected/unelected Maori representation onto local authorities and boards. Easy to see where this is heading so Mr Peters and NZ First stand up and be counted against this aberration and actively oppose legislative interference.

The apathetic silent/irrelevant majority (80 per cent) need to get off their butts and speak out.

As Thomas Jefferson said 'if any law is unjust a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.” Civil disobedience on race-based nonsense is long overdue. It's like a creeping cancer, making incompetency, unproductiveness and unearned entitlements hallmarks of these preferential racist programmes.

R Paterson, Matapihi.