Don't cry for me, Whakatane

Since Dotty and the Dwarves meekly patted the Diva on the back, let him off the leash (and any other similies you can think of for "were utterly emasculated by") and allowed him to return to his less-than-complimentary ways following the Code of Conduct hearings, Watchers feel we ought to publish a list of places it's now unsafe for them to visit.

There's Raetihi, of course. And Stratford. Christchurch, and now Whakatane.

But unlike Wanganui, it seems these towns won't simply sit mutely by while swamped with a spray from the Diva. The mayor of Stratford suggested his Wanganui counterpart should pull his head in, pointing out that he's got a lot to learn about local government. A confrontation between the two on National Radio resulted in the Diva taking something of a pasting.

Then the Whakatane Beacon took him to task (on 30 November) over comments made about that town, only to find a distinct lack of willingness to support his invective with facts or even reasoned argument. For those Watchers who haven't seen the original floating round town (reproduced above) here's the text:

'TRASH TALK' LAWS REFUSES TO FRONT UP
by Keith Melville

Wanganui mayor and Sunday Star Times columnist Michael Laws has declined to take up a Beacon invitation to come to Whakatane to debate his comments that our town is the "trash capital of New Zealand".

Commenting in the Sunday newspaper on the recent court case in which two Whakatane men with gang connections assaulted a two-year-old boy over a period of seven weeks, former MP Mr Laws said: "If Christchurch is the poor white trash capital, then Whakatane is simply the trash capital.

"It has more pond scum infesting its surrounds than algae in Lake Rotorua."

But the man who leads Wanganui has refused to justify his comments after an approach by the Beacon and will not even say when he was last in Whakatane.

Perhaps he has enough on his plate dealing with Wanganui, which is hardly free from crime.

According to a Wanganui Chronicle article published on Friday some central city businesses are considering quitting the city or hiring security guards to combat what they say is drug-fuelled thuggery.

Mr Laws, who seems to specialise in being outrageous , was asked by email last week whether he was prepared to front up to "the trash capital of New Zealand" to debate the issues he had raised.

He was also asked to back up his claims with statistical evidence and whether he accepted that his comments had probably damaged the work many Whakatane people had done to promote Whakatane as a safe place to visit.

The following email exchange took place with Mr Laws, who also dabbles in show business and failed to survive a recent Celebrity Treasure Island television series.

Mr Laws: "Who are you?"

Keith Melville: "I am a reporter."

Mr Laws: "Obviously not a very good one, given that you don't appear to have interviewed anyone prior to your email. Definitely a stupid one given your obvious mock-outrage."

Keith Melville: "Did you have a bad day in the council, Michael? Seriously, the invitation is still open if you want to answer the questions."

Mr Laws did not reply, but our invitation to see the many positive aspects of Whakatane remains open to a man who is particularly adept at talking trash.

A sidebar headed Who is Michael Laws? reminds Beacon readers of the Diva's unsavoury Parliamentary career and the "political scandal" that ended it.

Of course the Whakatane (and Christchurch and Stratford and Raetihi) slagging-off is exactly the sort of thing that formed much of the substance of the Code of Conduct complaints, yet Council effectively gave the Mayor permission to go back to business as usual, which he characterised at the time as "acting in the best interests of Wanganui". It's just a mystery why the poor simple folk of Whakatane (and Christchurch and Stratford and Raetihi) don't see it that way.

Meanwhile on the CoC there hasn't been another word about a review, though Dotty and the Dwarves promised they'd get right onto it as soon as the whitewash was completed. What gives? Surely they're not afraid they'd make total tits of themselves in light of all that's happened since, are they?

Code of Conduct - Investigation into alleged breaches of the Code - 27/06/05
Executive Summary
It was also recommended by the Audit and Administration Committee that the Wanganui District Council proceeds with the review of the Code of Conduct as already resolved by the Council at its meeting held on 21 February 2005.

Update (7.25 pm): The good folk at the Beacon have kindly sent us another story they ran, again on the front page, this time on 6 December. Seems the local iwi aren't impressed by the Diva either:

Eastern Bay of Plenty Maori are calling for Wanganui mayor and newspaper columnist Michael Laws to front up with an apology for comments they believe are racist and a slur on local iwi.

Commenting in the Sunday Star Times last month on a recent court case in which two Whakatane men with gang connections assaulted a two-year-old boy over a period of seven weeks, the former National Party MP said: "If Christchurch is the poor white trash capital, then Whakatane is simply the trash capital.

"It has more pond scum infesting its surrounds than algae in Lake Rotorua."

Mr Laws’ insults made headlines in the Beacon but he has since refused to justify his remarks or reveal when he was last in Whakatane – despite being challenged to do so by the Beacon.

However, Ngati Umutahi elder John Peri said Mr Laws was in Whakatane last year. Mr Peri is outraged by the comments, which he believes are aimed at Maori, and he is demanding an apology.

"You can see through the mist that he is actually talking about Maori," Mr Peri said. "That’s not fair and he’s not going to get away with it.

"Is he talking about the gang element? Well, that is just a small part of our iwi, if at all. Doesn’t he see what our people are doing and how they are right up there in New Zealand initiatives with steam and forestry. We are certainly not scum."

Mr Peri said under tikanga Maori, if someone in Whakatane took umbrage to remarks made by another person they would want that person to come and apologise.

He said there were a lot of angry Maori in the Eastern Bay, especially given the support they had shown to Wanganui Maori over the years in all sorts of issues. Ngati Hamua people living in Te Teko had a particularly close relationship with that area.

Mr Peri said Maori in Wanganui needed to talk to their mayor and bring him to Whakatane to apologise.

Alternatively, Mr Laws could make it clear what he was not talking about. "If he was not talking about Maori, he had better apologise to somebody else."

We particularly like the turn of phrase "you can see through the mist". So much more poetic than "you can see through the smoke a mirrors". If Mr Peri doesn't mind, we think we'll save that one for later. We hope Mr Peri communicates Ngati Umutahi's distress to Ken Mair, which should make for an interesting next Mayor/Mair meeting.

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