'Enough is enough': Iwi delegation front Invercargill City Council

“What is your problem? Why do you bag us, why do you give us a hard time because we are Māori? We are mana whenua of this area,” Cyril Gilroy said.

Former deputy mayor Toni Biddle told current councillors

A clearly emotional group of Māori representatives have fronted the Invercargill City Council.

It comes days after Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark reaffirmed his opposition to co-governance with Māori when he spoke at a Stop Co-governance Roadshow.

Clark has also expressed publicly his personal reluctance to address gatherings in te reo or for organisations and buildings to be known by solely te reo names without the english version.

He also acknowledged his relationship with the Waihōpai Rūnaka was ‘fractured’ and that there was work to be done there.