Tauranga City Council staff are cleaning more than 40 vandalised rubbish bins across the city which has seen Te Reo translations painted over.
"The areas targeted include Kulim Park, Pilot Bay and Marine Parade," says a Tauranga City Council spokesperson.
The matter has been reported to the New Zealand Police, and Council Commission Chair Anne Tolley says racist behaviour in the spaces it administers won’t be tolerated.
“We will ensure that the affected bins are swiftly restored to their original state to promote Te Reo Māori visibility in our city,” says Anne.
“This is not who we are, or who we want to be, and is a sad reflection on a small section of our community.
“Te Reo Māori is an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand and anyone who chooses to detract from the increasingly important role it plays in our everyday language is detracting from our heritage.
"Our message to those who are responsible for this silly and misguided vandalism is that it’s totally unacceptable and we invite them to reflect upon the cost and hurt they are inflicting.”
Council staff estimate it could cost $3,500-$5,000 to remove the damage from the bins.
4 comments
Tagging it used to be.
Posted on 05-10-2023 18:08 | By Cynical Me
To call this racism is stretching the bow a bit.
Anywhere else where English is over written it's called tagging. But the special language is different it seems.
If ya did it on a memo it's called highlighting.
Won't be tolerated says Tolley.
Is she gunna sleep by the bins?
All hot air for publicity and what is she up to when no one is looking?
Trying hard to ruin our city by taking on more and more debt to build her place Downtown which will be an economic monster.
Past time they left the town.
Not Racism
Posted on 05-10-2023 21:52 | By spencerb
This is not racism. It is the removal of racism.
I wonder
Posted on 06-10-2023 17:14 | By Accountable
If we would get the same reaction if the English wording were to be vandalised ? When you see the amount of graffiti around the town and the time it takes to remove it one would doubt that anyone would give a damn. There has been graffiti on the rubbish bins on lower Devonport road which has been there for it seems like forever and it's nigh on impossible to get the council to keep them clean.
Racism?
Posted on 07-10-2023 17:28 | By morepork
Maybe. I'd agree that it is stupid. If you investigate the roots of racism (good title for a book... anybody?) you will find that prejudice arises not from colour but from unfairness. Somebody gets a better deal than you do, because of their ethnicity. That breeds resentment, and resentment breeds racism. Another thing that breeds resentment is having something that is not something which you grew up with, forced in your face repetitively. This is not a Maoritanga or Te Reo shortcoming; it is a fault with the way these things are being presented sometimes. "Te Reo must be compulsory in school." "Local government WILL use Te Reo and Te Ao Maori..." Instead of encouraging and facilitating interest, a bullying approach is being used by an insecure government, driven by Te Pati Maori. Many people who are not necessarily racist, could be exasperated enough to paint a litter bin.
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