Hope for Hinerangi and the Murupara-Galatea Ward! Now CLOSED.

UPDATE 25/11/19:

Thanks to all who have shown sincere support via the Give A Little Page.

After seeking legal advice I have decided to bow out graciously and to no longer pursue court action against Whakatāne District Council as to not put myself, my family and community under further stress as we draw close to Christmas. For this reason I have decided to close the Give A Little fund.

I want to assure you that the money donated will pay for the lawyer fee and the excess will not be put to waste, nor held by me personally. It will be donated to a local charity or community group in my ward of Galatea-Murupara of the Whakatāne District.

I hope that this donation helps to lift the spirits of families during the festive season, in a time and place, where we continue to face many social challenges and suffering within the community.

I trust that you will agree with this decision. For me, this is not about giving up, in fact far from it. It is about regrouping and refocusing our energy to fight another day.

On behalf of myself, family and the wider community of Galatea-Murupara ward I thank you all very much for your thoughts, prayers and kind donations.

Ngā mihi me ngā manaaki ki runga i a koutou katoa.

https://www.waateanews.com/waateanews/x_news/MjMxOTA/Paakiwaha/Media-Release:-Hinerangi-Goodman-will-not-pursue-court-proceedings

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Hinerangi Goodman is launching a legal battle to reclaim her seat on the Whakatāne District Council. After the initial vote count, newcomer Hinerangi Goodman and returning councillor were tied for a councillor position. The stalemate was broken by drawing names out of a hat and Mrs Goodman was declared the winner and sworn in the following week.

This was only to be removed a week later following a judicial recount of votes at the previous seat-holder’s request, by which she was then declared the winner by a single vote.

The incident has caused a lot of debate in the Whakatāne district about how fair the process was. Questions have also been raised as to why the council rushed to hold the swearing-in ceremony knowing its election results were not complete.

Whakatāne mayor Judy Turner said “We were under pressure to get things back to businesses usual as our annual report needed to be approved by October 31 and we required a full council that had been sworn in to be able to do that”.

“We were aware that either of the candidates could seek a recount, in fact, we were expecting it to happen, but we were under pressure to have things completed” said Turner.

Mrs Goodman said for her to go through the ceremony and then be ousted trampled on her mana and broke Māori tikanga. "The significance of that ceremony … it means everything is good, sealed and done. It really cuts across all boundaries of our culture, our tikanga”.

"This is a big insult to the people who voted for me and my own people who came down and took part in the pōwhiri at council” she said. It insults the very processes of tikanga that they asked us to perform,” said Goodman.

There has also been anger from many in the Murupara community who were delighted to have a Māori representative for the predominately Māori town and were disappointed to see that prospect leave. At a public meeting in Murupara, a woman in the crowd said the election had been so "shambolic”.

Mrs Goodman said she was a pensioner and couldn't afford to launch the legal fight herself. However, she said she was now looking to the future and what she could do to ensure she kept her seat on the council.

"Council is just following the legislation and they are now caught between a rock and a hard place and are hoping we are too poor to afford this, and we'll just go away," she said. "I will not be an amiable token Māori. I used to be a journalist and I believe in tell everything, tell it all."

Mrs Goodman said "I feel beat up and worn out, but I still have the energy to keep going and fight this battle. I was sworn in, I made an oath before God."

18 October: Tie announced between returning councillor and Hinerangi Goodman for the Murupara-Galatea Ward

18 October: Hinerangi Goodman declared winner after her name was drawn from a hat

24 October: Previous seat-holder requests a vote recount at the Whakatāne District Court

25 October: Hinerangi Goodman sworn in as the councillor for Murupara-Galatea Ward at Whakatāne District Council

31 October: Whakatāne District Council adopts annual report

31 October: Previous seat-holder announced the winner by one vote following a recount of votes

** We are seeking legal council from Graeme Edgler from Blackstone Chambers.