an open letter to the Mayor and Councillors of KCDC, also to the Kapiti Community and beyond
Some years ago, the KCDC decided that a macron should be included in the name of Kapiti, but whoever decided to take this action did not apply to The New Zealand Geographic Board to obtain a legal view.
I have obtained proof that a proposal was never received from the District Council by the Board regarding adding a macron to the a in Kapiti.
For such a request to be accepted, the KCDC would be expected to have conducted a consultation, and any such proposal would also be subject to public consultation through the NZGB’s standard process: none of this did happen.
Therefore KCDC’s actions of including the macron were and still are totally unlawful.
‘Kapiti’ in the long form of the name, is part of the bit meaning boundary line and is not spelt with a macron in the standard te reo Maori promoted by The Maori Language Commission. So this ‘Kapiti’ definitely does not relate to cabbages.
Kapiti with a macron in standard te reo Maori has the meaning of ‘cabbage’.
In consideration of tourism, let alone the local residents of Kapiti, the sensible thing to do is to expunge the macron from all signage and letterheads etc., thus doing everything to annul such frivolous derogatory comments referring to our lovely area as the ‘Cabbage Patch’.
This is not going to be cheap, but this irresponsible situation has been brought about by the idiotic self indulgence of a previous Mayor, which has then been perpetuated by the successive Councils, much to the annoyance of the community.
I trust that you are now fully aware that this macron subject has grown from a sore to a full grown boil, and that you should now take this matter up in the same spirit that you took with the ‘Osbourne hedge’ debacle, but this time with the Community at heart.
Should you have any doubt about the authenticity of my comments, then I will be pleased to provide copies to you of the confirming detail.
Not only has the ill-conceived action of KCDC done to detriment to the area, but your actions have also slid into the NZTA, who also have erroneously utilized it, naming the Expressway effectively ‘The Cabbage Expressway’. What other damage has been done? Oh yes -– even a local paper is now showing a heading of the ‘Cabbage Patch’.
Trusting that retrospective action will now be taken by KCDC, in an effort to alleviate the detriment of the error, in the earliest and most affordable way -– such as the speed taken by Council in the ‘Osbourne hedge’ situation!
The majority of the Kapiti residents have a sincere appreciation of the area, and under no circumstance do they need being classified as living in a ‘Cabbage Area’.
Roy Bradbury, a concerned ex-Waikanae Councillor
Are the IWI up in arms about this bastardisation of the name of the area? If not, why not?
With all due respect Kāpiti does NOT translate to cabbage in English, Kāpeti does, with an ‘e’.
I’m no expert in Te Reo, but I have been taught that the macron over the ‘a’ tells the reader/speaker that it is pronounced ‘aah’, like the word car, as opposed to how it sounds in the word cat. I’m assuming that the previous Council was attempting to be respectful to Māori culture and language.
This argument appears to have an irrational basis. I’d prefer not to make assumptions as to the esteemed ex councillor’s motivation or reasoning.
Kia Ora! 😉
According to Roy Bradbury the Rowan council didn’t follow the correct procedure for the change, and thus it has no legal validity.
Consultation before decision should be the norm on matters like these. I tend to agree with Jeannie.
In an email to Roy I said, “My personal view is applying the Interpretation Act 1999 and the general principles of “de minimis” there might be little that can be done. The case of Rea v Wellington City Council comes to mind.”
Bernie
# Response to comment from Jeannie Lacey (24/01/2018):-
It is obvious that Jeannie Lacey has not researched NZ history and Maori culture/language before posting her comment on Roy Bradbury’s open letter to the Mayor and Councillors of KCDC.
The Maori Language Commission confirms “kāpiti” spelt with a macron has only one translation of “cabbage” in English.
It is also obvious that Jeannie Lacey, like many so called learned people in this country, doesn’t understand NZ bilingualism. She, like every NZ citizen, can speak “te reo” (the language). It is a meaningless expression unless qualified by which language e.g. Maori (te reo Maori), English (te reo Ingarihi), Spanish (te reo Paniora), etc.
# Response to comment from Bernie Randall (24/01/2018):-
Mr Randall’s first paragraph is contradictory as he states “consultation before decision should be the norm” but then agrees with Jeannnie Lacey who, as shown above, doesn’t understand te re Maori or protocol and procedures to change NZ place names.
Ex-Mayor Jenny Rowan was being disrespectful to Maori culture and language when she unilaterally introduced a macron into our District name. She did not consult her Council or the ratepayers / residents she represented and also arrogantly chose to ignore the views of the Maori Language Commission and our wider NZ Maori community. Forcing Councillors to vote on changing the name of the District Council without legislative authority to do so is an illegal act and is not recognised by the NZ Geographic Board. Unfortunately, Mr Randall and subsequent elected Council representatives appear not to understand this.
For Mr Randall to also state that, “there might be little that can be done”, would appear to indicate that he acknowledges a grave error has occurred but he is not willing to speak out to correct it. As a current elected KCDC Community Board Member he is in a prime position to question the Mayor and Councillors about what actions they propose taking to correct this issue.
Rukingi Richards