Media Release
7 November 2010

Jami-Lee Ross
Auckland Councillor

Councillor calls on Council to respect Howick name.

Auckland Councillor for Howick, Jami-Lee Ross, is calling on the Auckland Council to respect the Howick community's desire to be called Howick.

The call comes as references to Te Irirangi, a name rejected in June this year, can be found on the Auckland Council website.

"This is a sensitive issue for a lot of residents in the Howick Ward. Our community overwhelmingly rejected the name Te Irirangi", says Mr Ross.

"We fought hard this year to have the name Howick reinstated as the name that represents our entire community. A small group within the Local Government Commission attempted to rename our proud and historic community. But we battled against that and won".

In June this year Parliament enacted the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Act 2010. Section 30 of that Act amended the Local Government (Auckland Wards and Local Boards) Determination 2010 to reinstate the name Howick.

"Te Irirangi has been, quite rightly, removed. It was never a name that represented the people of Howick.

"I am now concerned to find that documents on the Auckland Council website continue to refer to Howick as Te Irirangi, almost six months since the special law change that we succeeded in achieving.

"I have written to the Auckland Council Chief Executive Officer asking that references to Te Irirangi be removed. I have explained to the CEO that this is a very sensitive issue and that residents and ratepayers would be alarmed to learn the Council was still referring to Howick as Te Irirangi.

"It is my hope that this was merely an oversight. However, we received little support from the former Manukau City Council during the Howick naming debate. I want to make sure the new Council knows that we want to be called Howick, and nothing else."

ENDS

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