Councilor publicly apologizes after turning his back on a Waiata

Wellington City Councilor Sean Rush agreed to attend Waitangi Treaty training after turning his back on a Waiata.

A petition was launched on Sunday for Rush to attend the training or be forced to resign after the first-term councilor turned his back on a Waiata at a council meeting on Wednesday.

By Monday afternoon, the petition had attracted more than 700 signatures.

Rush posted on his Facebook page on Monday: “I am deeply sorry for what happened and any offense caused. I was always taught to ‘own up to’ your mistakes and I certainly own this one.

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“In my various careers, I have always strived to achieve good results for Maori. I hope that I can gain the trust of Wellingtons, and Maori in particular, to use my role in the council to seek better results for Maori here in Wellington.

“To make sure this type of mistake doesn’t happen again, I have requested training to learn more about the important cultural protocols that apply to city councils and during council meetings.”

Roxy Coervers, who initiated the petition, wrote to Rush and Wellington Mayor Andy Foster on Thursday, requesting that Rush undergo diversity and sensitivity training around the Treaty.

Rush responded to the email an hour later, but by Monday afternoon Foster still hadn’t responded.

The incident occurred when seven councilors chanted a waiata in support of a move by councilor Jill Day to grant iwi voting rights on council committees.

Rush later said the action was not a sign of disrespect, and he turned around in his chair to collect his thoughts before raising a point of order.

When asked if he had taken any action with Rush over the incident, Foster said he had privately told Rush to apologize.

Since then, Rush has decided to undertake “some proper training,” Foster said.

Coervers said in his petition that Rush’s actions were not what people should expect from an elected member.

“This behavior is rude, problematic, inappropriate and disrespectful and is not indicative of how local residents want to be represented in their local government, nor is it the way an elected councilor should behave when presented with issues that directly affect the iwi local. . “

She alleged that the incident was a violation of the Councilors’ Code of Conduct.

“This petition asks Councilor Rush to attend a diversity and sensitivity training around Te Tiriti, how local government representatives should work to uphold the Te Tiriti principles and ways to support and raise mana whenua as well as issuing an apology. “

The petition called for Rush to resign if the training was not completed.

In her email to Rush and Foster on Thursday, Coervers said she was “upset and shocked” by the incident.

Rush apologized to Coervers for his behavior and said that he did not recognize that the song was a waiata, which he understood to be more formal and pointed out in advance.

“I listened with respect for the most part, but in the end I turned to compose myself when I was about to speak.

“I was also quite upset when my friend and colleague Councilor Day expressed disappointment and described the song as a waiata, and then I apologized to her as soon as I could.”

Coervers said it would present the petition to Foster and the council’s executive director, Barbara McKerrow, next week.

“Andy Foster has shown that he cannot reply to my email so I will go and introduce him in person.”